Today, many people dream of seeing their house unusual, they want it to be different from the traditional atmosphere of the apartments we are used to. Everyone thinks about expensive curtains, handmade carpets, luxurious antique furniture. However, this situation is far from affordable for everyone - furniture with signs of aging is very expensive.
But if you decide to make your apartment original and unique, you can age the furniture yourself. It will look original and spectacular, which will allow you to create an interior in the style of Provence, country, etc.
How to age furniture with your own hands: master class
There are several methods of aging furniture. We will talk about them later. To get started, check out the list of necessary materials and tools:
- metal brush;
- sand paper ;
- grinder with different nozzles;
- brush for sweeping sawdust and dust;
- roller;
- brush;
- kerosene burner (or blowtorch);
- azure white and dark;
- antiseptic paint;
- ammonia;
- stain;
- craquelure varnish;
- shellac soil;
- rags;
- sponge;
- White Spirit.
Popular ways
Artificially aged furniture looks noble and beautiful, but making it much easier, cheaper, and faster than acquiring a genuine antique. Do-it-yourself furniture is possible in the three most common ways:
- Chemical.
- Thermal.
- Mechanical.
The chemical method involves the use of various substances, such as ammonia, craquelure varnishes, stain. Thermal aging allows you to achieve the effect through exposure to open flame. The most common is considered to be a mechanical method. In this case, damage is applied to the surface: scratches, cracks, etc. - followed by their treatment with paint, varnish, which enhance the effect.
When using one of these methods, you can get completely different looking furniture. At first glance, it is not comparable with each other, although it is a manifestation of the same direction - decoration. Now we will tell you more about how to age furniture. The master class, we hope, will help you master the popular methods of aging. But for starters, regardless of the method chosen, it is necessary to pre-prepare the surface to be treated - remove the doors, decor and accessories, as well as a layer of varnish or old paint from the hinges.
Chemical way
This method can be performed in several ways. Which is closer to you - choose for yourself. We will offer some of the most popular options.
Use ammonia
First you need to finish the surface with sandpaper. After that, you will see how a clearer tree structure appears. This may not be done, but this manipulation will enhance the effect of antiquity. Then, ammonia is applied to the wooden surface . It will cause its darkening and the appearance of a light grayish hue, which is characteristic of antique wooden objects.
You need to know that this method can only age furniture made from hardwood, as they contain tannins.
Aging with craquelure varnish and paint
The purpose of this method is to create a worn surface. First you need to decide on the main color, and then choose a lighter tone to achieve the effect of a faded surface. For this purpose, you can use bright white paint, and the color of baked milk or ivory. The main color is achieved by tinting white.
First, the main color is applied to the surface to be treated. When the paint is completely dry, another layer is applied, but already white. Now wait until the surface is completely dry. After that, you can start surface treatment with a fine sandpaper. This will create the effect of scuffing and the appearance of emerging spots of the lower (darker) layer of paint.
Cracks will help you make cracks. It is applied to the base, and when the surface is covered with a second layer of paint, small cracks appear on it, which are so characteristic of antique furniture. They will have a base color. To make the result more interesting, several dyes can be used for the base.
Using stain
How to age furniture at home in this way? First coat the surface with a stain (water-based), thereby setting the base color. Then, selectively, it begins to be washed off with a wet sponge. The main emphasis is on the middle part of the surface, and the edges, bends, cracks are left darker.
If you want to age the furniture, but when carrying out the above manipulations, the desired result was not achieved, after the surface has completely dried, sand it. For bends and depressions, additionally walk with a brush dipped in a stain.
At the next stage, apply a layer of stain on another basis (for example, alcohol, naphtha or gasoline). Dry the treated part for twelve hours. Now you can use a brush or foam to fill the wood pores with shellac soil. And finally, they rub a special wax into the treated surface, and after that they polish everything with a soft cloth.
Thermal method
In this case, the wooden surface is fired with a blowtorch until the knots and texture pattern are clearly visible. This is the first stage of aging. Then carbon deposits are removed from the surface and a more prominent structure is achieved with a metal brush.
To make the wood pattern even more expressive, you can cover the product with one layer of stain and a layer of varnish. This method requires care and accuracy, as careless use of a blowtorch can permanently damage furniture.
Thermally aging furniture can be done using a kerosene burner (instead of a blowtorch). In this case, the surface can be treated with a metal brush both before and after heat treatment. During operation, do not hold fire in some areas for longer than in others. This work is best done in the air - in the yard or on the balcony.
Mechanical way
This is the most common method by which furniture can age. It is also the safest, and therefore most suitable for use at home. It is carried out in three ways.
In the first case, the surface should be treated with a metal brush, then coated with white azure. Dry the surface well. Azure is a translucent coating. Through it peeps through the natural structure of the tree. When the coating has completely dried, it must be brushed again. As a result, you get a bleached wooden surface that has a slight scuff.
The next option is somewhat more complicated than the first: the soft wood fibers are removed with a brush, creating a heterogeneous structure, and then they are painted to enhance the effect. First, the surface is treated with sandpaper, after that - with a metal brush, which can be replaced with a grinder with the necessary nozzle. Now you can clean the plane of sawdust so that they do not interfere. At the end of this procedure, the surface acquires contrast and relief. To emphasize and enhance beauty, it should be painted with azure in two layers. The coating is applied with a brush or roller.
After applying the azure, after two to three minutes the excess is removed with a sponge, observing the relief. As soon as the surface acquires the desired appearance, it is left to dry completely. Then apply a thin layer of varnish.
How to artificially age furniture for Provence style? Apply a thin layer of white azure under the varnish. When the surface is dry, apply the final layer - transparent azure. This furniture option looks great if light colors prevail in the interior of the room.