I
kind of came up with this technique over a period of a few years by
just playing with paints and such. I really got it to where I loved
it on a bench several years ago. I needed a bench to set in a scene
and I found a kit at the local mini store (really miss that place,
<sigh>) that was exactly what I wanted. The kit actually made 2
benches so I made them both up and then wanted to figure out what to
do with the second one. I decided to use it in the yard of a house I
was working on at the time. I wanted it to look like it had really
been around for a long time and had been abused, maybe left outside
or in another unprotected place. I knew the look I wanted so I
started to play around with paints and such. The process kind of
evolved as I worked and I was really pleased with the end result.
When I showed the photos to some online groups I got several requests
to teach them how I had accomplished the end result.
So
the look we are going to go for is a piece of furniture that has been
around for a long, long time. You really want it to have very simple
lines to work the best and it should be made of wood. Other than
those things it can be anything although chairs, tables and benches
work the best I have used this on cabinets of all types too. I am
using the bench I made in last week's video for the demo.
If
you are using a piece of furniture that has a shinny surface you will
need to sand off the shine then just follow the steps in the video.
I
like to start with a white base coat. This gets everything ready for
the technique, acts something like a primmer and also when you sand
down to the bare wood gives another layer of color.
The
next layer I refer to as “Patchwork Painting” because when you
are done although it looks scary it should resemble a patchwork
quilt. Try to cover most or all of the white paint. Overlapping
colors is recommended too, this layer is standing in for the many
layers of paint that would have been applied to the piece over the
many years since it was new. Try to pick dark, rich and/or bright
colors. You want contrast here both with the white layer and with
each other. The colors I used in the video were:
Ceramcoat:
Blue Velvet
Lemon
Seminole
Green
Terra
Cotta
Brown
Velvet
Tomato
Spice
Apple
Barrel: Neon Blue
Folk
Art: Neon Orange
Just
use what you have on hand.
I
usually use cotton swabs for this layer but you can use brushes if
you prefer. I use the cotton swabs simply to save me having to clean
brushes that many times. Try not to mix the colors together but that
is really the only rule, oh and don't be too neat on this layer.
Messy is better, small drips are fine (maybe encouraged even) and
bumpy is fine too. You want this to look like there is a lot of
layers of paint without the bulk of the layers.
Let
this coat dry completely before you go on to the next step.
Now
we need to add a very small amount of crackle medium. Be sure to read
the directions on the label we need the kind that is painted on the
piece allowed to almost dry and then a light top coat is added. I
know there is another variety that works in a very different way and
that will not work here. With crackle mediums the heavier the coat
the larger the crackle so we want jut a whisper of it, and only in a
few places. This is not the project to layer all over. We just want a
few cracks, and be sure to apply it in the same direction as the
grain of the wood. Now even though the directions will probably tell
you that you want to leave this for maybe 30 minutes DON'T. Go wash
the brush you used out and come right back and check it. We are using
such a thin layer that it will probably be ready. Check it with your
finger tip, it should be just a bit sticky I guess the word would be
tacky.
So
onto a thin layer of our topcoat I like to use a cream color craft
paint for this since it will contrast nicely with all the colors
under it. I used Ceramcoat in Buttercream but any similar color will
work.
Let
this layer of paint dry completely before you go onto the next step!
Now
we are adding some abuse to our little piece of furniture. Gather up
a collection of tools that you can use to really add some age and go
to it. I like to sand some areas with an emery board, use pliers,
dental pick, Exacto knife, etc to add some age. Just think about what
the effect of the tool is giving you and place it in a logical spot
on the piece of furniture.
Next
we will add a dirty water wash literally a drop of a warm brown paint
in a few drops of water. You are just trying to make the piece look a
bit older and dirty it up a bit. I used a “safety swab” for this
step but of course you can use a fluffy paint brush. Just be sure to
just add a hint of a wash of the color. If you are making it brown,
get more water in the paint.
Then
comes the fun little “extra” touches, the ring left by some
mystery can that was set down, the speckles of paint, just use your
imagination and see what you can come up with.
If
you are unsure about the process this is one I highly recommend doing
some samples up on extra wood. I like to use craft sticks (or better
yet the jumbo craft sticks) for things like this, they are small but
still large enough to see the effects and really cheap to have on
hand.
So
get out you paints and have some fun adding some age to a piece of
furniture.
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