One of the best things about owning hardwood surfaces is that they are fun to work with. You can basically customize any piece of wood, whether it be a deck, wall, floor, table, or small piece of furniture by applying a unique wood finish. There are so many ways to refinish wood and make the piece look completely unique. Antique style finishes are among the most popular. This is why so many new products are sold with fake antique finished, complete with natural-looking distress marks and fading to make the wood look older than it really is.
If you have an existing wood surface that you want to give an antique finish to, you can get creative and do it yourself. Here are a few ways to create antique wood finishes on hardwood.
Create Distress Marks
Before applying a stain finish, you need to create unique distress marks on the wood. There is really no right or wrong way to create these markings. For instance, you could random strike the wood with a hammer. You can scratch it randomly with metal tools, like a screwdriver or file. One great technique is to set an old set of keys down on the wood, and then strike them with a hammer. This creates a nice distress pattern. You can also attach a coarse sandpaper to a power sander to scuff up random parts of the wood. The goal is to just make your markings look as random as possible. Of course, you don't want to create holes or voids in your wood that are so large that they are trip hazard or dangerous to walk on.
Applying an Antique Stain
There are a number of antique stain products. Most antique stains require applying a chemical agent to the wood before you apply the actual stain. The agent just stays on the wood for a few minutes. Then, you apply the stain directly over it. The agents will cause the stain to peel up and create a crackle effect. This, coupled with the unique distress marking can make your piece look great.
You can also create you own antique stain by just using normal wood stain and sandpaper. You can sand down the wood in random spots after the stain dries. Then, apply a new coat of stain. You can repeat this process for several coats. The sanding will cause the stain to absorb unevenly and look faded in certain spots.
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