Finishing question-antiqued finish

[Dave O'Nan]

Hello ya'll, this is my first post. I'm not new to these forums but new to this one. I am very impressed by the membership here, it's a very strong forum. Ok, to the matter at hand. I have made a step stool for my niece. My sister wanted this out out of Pottery Barn so I said I can make that. Now I am at the finish stage and need advice on how to achieve a similar look. I would like to keep the finish inexpensive seeing as I have already spent around $20 on the piece and I could buy it for $52 plus shipping. The stool is made out of Poplar. Please offer any suggeations ya'll see applicable. Here's the original piece. Thanks, Dave:)

http://ncwoodworker.net/gallery/files/5/1/Ameliastepstoolexample.jpg

And what I have made.

http://ncwoodworker.net/gallery/files/5/1/Stepstool011.jpg

Thanks for ya'lls advice. Dave:)

[Steve Schoene]

Poplar seems well suited for enamel similar to the "Amelia" stool. This is fairly simple to achieve. First, to make the antiquing look realistic you should stain the poplar with just about any woodtone stain you have left over. When this dries I would brush on a couple of coats of an oil based enamel, wiping off several typical wear spots to let the stained wood show through. After the enamel has cured for a week or two, a good rub with 0000 steel wool will kill any gloss and give a mellow antique look. You don't need to beat it with chains.

[Dave O'Nan]

Thanks, that is what I was thinking. I like your idea of knocking off the gloss with some steel wool. I appreciate your advice. Thanks, Dave:)

[Chris Barton]

I think Steve's advice is spot on but, would add that when you knock off the paint around the edges, pick places where wear would have been expected. Also, once the paint has been knocked off use just a bit of a medium brown stain to hit the raw wood to keep it from looking too new. Also, you may want to glaze it a bit with some stain pigment. This is easy to do with any pigmnet stain by taking a paint stir and diping to the bottom of an unstired or shaken can and scraping out a bit of the raw pigment. Use a rag to smaer this around making sure to get it into the cracks and crevices. Wipe off the excess and it should look great, and old...

[Gail O'Rourke]

Pottery Barn is my favorite to copy...anyway, I have done a similar finish with milk paint, use one color on bottom (maybe red) with another color (black) on top for example. Make sure to show us the finished project.

[Bart Sharp]

Let me preface this by saying that I have yet to actually try this technique, but it is something I am looking forward to taking a crack at. Another way to "antique" a piece like that is to glaze it with a medium-dark brown glaze. You paint it over everything then immediately wipe it back off with a rag slightly dampened in solvent. You'll get pretty much all of the glaze off of the flat parts but it will hang up in the nooks and crannies, not unlike the accumulated "patina" (dirt) from years of use.

[Dave O'Nan]

Thanks you for all you suggestions. Being the hard headed fool I am I took a few suggestions and when my own way in other areas. This is the finished product. Latex enamel and then I sanded through it in the typical wear area and stained the bare wood. I will give it a coat or two of spray lacquer to finish it off. Thanks for everyone help and I hope ya'll approve of it.

http://ncwoodworker.net/gallery/files/5/1/Finishedstepstool005.jpg

Thanks, Dave:)

[Patricia Paris]

Nice Job Dave!!! And how nice that she say her uncle made it and its not from the pottery barn!!!!:D

Patty