Giving the effect of antiquity to the tree. How to age a tree: Do-it-yourself patination of a tree

Despite the variety of glossy facades, antique wood interior elements remain in demand. The purchase of such furniture will cost a pretty penny. In the case when you don’t really want to spend money, you should not refuse the idea of \u200b\u200bhaving an aged chest of drawers or a table. You can try to age the furniture yourself. Let's try to figure out what technology is used to process semi-antique wood with our own hands. After all, natural conditions age a tree for many years. And to get the result quickly, you have to age the tree artificially.

You will not find semi-antique furniture in every home. It should be used where appropriate. The design of the room should be thought out in the appropriate style so that antique products look decent.

Usually, the tree aging procedure is performed for a specific purpose, namely:

Satisfy the taste of the dwellers.
Save money on antiques. It is much cheaper to buy inexpensive furniture and age artificially.

Using certain methods of aging wood, you can get exclusive things. Both the entire product and its individual parts are processed. Particular attention should be paid to items such as chests of drawers, sideboards, book shelves, mirror frames. They are most often aged, since it is difficult to imagine a vintage-style interior without these items.

Aging methods

The process of processing semi-antique wood with your own hands is carried out in several ways. The main ones are:

Chemical processing- used for hardwoods.
Roasting or heat treatment- universal option.
Machining or brushing- this way you can process products made of oak or needles.

Furniture for aging is selected massive, with a rough texture, so that outwardly it resembles hand-made objects of past centuries. Before processing, it is better to disassemble the furniture into individual parts. This will make it possible to process even hard-to-reach places.

To facilitate the achievement of the effect of aging wood, it is better to purchase material that is already damaged by a bug, with minor chips, cracks and knots.

If the process of aging a tree with your own hands is performed for the first time, then it is better to practice a little on separate unnecessary bars. The quality of the result depends on how well the solution, stain or varnish is applied. It is recommended to perform work outdoors so as not to harm your own health.

How to make new boards or furniture look like old products? Now you know that several techniques are used for these purposes. Let's consider each of them in more detail.

Mechanical restoration

It is possible to age a tree mechanically in products from such species as pine, spruce, larch. It is these types of wood that have a pronounced texture, the presence of layers of fibers with varying degrees of hardness.

The main task during machining is the formation of various kinds of chips, potholes, cracks in an artificial way. You can achieve this by doing the following:

1. Wooden surfaces are processed with an ax or a special grinder. Potholes of various depths and widths are randomly applied to them. The bar is hewn, while you should not achieve special accuracy and symmetry.

2. After that, we proceed to grinding the surface with a brush with metal bristles. It will be easier to do this with a grinder and an appropriate nozzle. During processing, sanding is carried out along the grain until the inflicted potholes and chips take the form of naturally formed defects on the wood.

3. Then we move on to the second degree of grinding. At this stage, we work with a brush with soft bristles and sandpaper. During this treatment, soft fibers are removed, and coarser ones remain. Thus, we get an uneven tree structure. In the same way, you can additionally highlight knots and cracks.

4. At the next stage, we work on the color of the wood. It is necessary to bring the light new wood as close as possible to the shade of the board darkened from old age. Here you can apply a stain or a dark shade of acrylic-based paint.

5. When the applied product is completely dry, we process the surface with fine-grained sandpaper. At the same time, we try to perform all actions carefully. The paint must be removed from the hills and ridges, and it remains in the potholes.

6. At the final stage, we open the treated surface with a colorless or light yellow varnish and dry it completely.

On the video: a method of mechanical aging of a wooden board.

As for the question of how to age wood on small items, such as small pieces of furniture or wooden utensils, here the process is slightly simplified. The surface to be treated is thoroughly cleaned with a brush from wood dust until the desired effect is achieved. The subsequent staining and opening with varnish is identical to the process described earlier.

Brushing should only be done by hand using a metal bristle brush until small dents and ridges are achieved.

Heat treatment

Wood can be aged by heat treatment. A feature of this method of aging is the complete absence of mechanical processes. The disadvantage is a certain danger to human health during the work. Therefore, they should be performed outdoors, while protecting the skin, eyes and respiratory organs.

Heat treatment or firing is done by exposing the wood to direct fire. Either a torch or a blowtorch should be used. It is necessary to burn to a depth of about 3 mm.

If heat treatment is carried out superficially, then the effect of aging will not be as pronounced as with stronger firing.

After finishing the heat treatment, perform the following steps:

With the help of a metal brush or a grinder with a bristle nozzle, they begin to scrape off the carbon layer to the desired degree of antiquity. It is not necessary to paint the surface. Soot will highlight the entire structure.
Sanding is done with sandpaper.
A top coat of clear lacquer is applied to the aged wood.

chemical method

A tree can be aged during chemical treatment by means such as alkaline compounds or ammonia. You can use household chemicals that contain alkaline components.

The essence of the process lies in the fact that when the product gets on the wood, it burns out its soft tissues. The structure of a tree is distinguished by the presence of hard and soft tissues. When processing antique wood, soft tissues are removed in various ways.

In this case, the surface layer of wood is burned out with alkali, which in parallel paints it gray.

The next step is the process of washing off alkaline residues. To do this, you can use vinegar or citric acid. A solution of citric acid is prepared in the proportion: 1 teaspoon of acid per glass of water. If vinegar is used, then it should be a 9% solution. Acetic acid must not be used. Further, the treated surfaces are well dried, polished and varnished.

Aging a tree in all the ways listed above is quite simple if you make efforts and efforts. You can give the desired effect to any surface. Can be aged as small household items, furniture or even a wooden floor.

Beautiful aged furniture can bring an atmosphere of sophistication and harmony to your home. Under natural conditions, a tree ages under the influence of various natural factors - wind, rain, sunlight, etc.

But it is not at all necessary to wait a couple of decades for the purchased headset to acquire such a unique look. You can use special technologies for aging wood.

Benefits of aged wood

Aged furniture looks elegant and stylish in any interior.

Aged wood is a beautiful, durable and functional material from which various pieces of furniture are made: tables, chairs, beds, chests of drawers, etc.

The benefits of aged wood are as follows:

The surface does not require special treatment, if desired, it is enough just to cover it with varnish.
The effect of aging allows you to give any piece of furniture an antique look.
Natural wood pattern looks unique and inimitable.
Aged wood furniture will look harmonious in any interior.
This material is environmentally friendly and anti-allergenic.
Aged wood is reliable and durable.
Finally, furniture made from this material will never go out of fashion.

What kind of wood is best to age?

Suitable for aging soft wood or material of medium hardness. It has a brighter texture. This requirement is met by spruce, larch and pine. The breeds presented are distinguished by the fact that they have soft fibers. In spring and summer, annual rings form on them most quickly, causing the fibers to become “loose”. Woods such as beech and maple are not suitable for aging, because their texture is weakly expressed and almost uniform.

Training

Before aging a tree, its surface must be prepared

Before you start aging wooden furniture with your own hands, you need to conduct a quality preparation of the surfaces that you plan to process. To do this, remove all defects and dirt. These may be traces of fat and other stains. If this is not done, obsolete pollution will appear after applying a tint coating to the tree. Also remove old paint or varnish and dismantle excess fittings that interfere with antique processing.

Ways

When the preparatory stage of the robots is done, proceed to aging. First, decide on the technology that you would like to age the furniture with. There are the following options:

Coloring;
Craquelure;
Surface brushing;
Stain processing;
Wood processing with special chemical compositions (olding technology);
Application of gilding;
Achieving a lime effect (liming technology).

Let's look at each of these ways of aging a tree in more detail.

Coloring

Wood aged with staining technique

If you want your wooden furniture to look worn, you can use the staining technique. Choose a base tone that will show through the top layer of paint.

For the base, you can use any color, as long as it is more saturated than the auxiliary.

You can also use color mixed with white paint and a water base. For the second layer, it is better to use light shades. This combination of colors will create the effect of burnt paint. After the paint is dry, sand it down with fine grit sandpaper. This will remove excess paint. Sanding is necessary until the effect of worn paint appears. The main layer will come through it. The final stage of processing is varnishing.

Craquelure

You can paint the tree with craquelure technique. Simply put, create the effect of cracks on wooden furniture. You will need a special craquelure varnish. After applying the base color to it, the varnish will crack. The color of the cracks depends on the selected base. To add originality, you can use several colors at once. Craquelure is a good way to quickly give your wooden furniture an antique look.

Surface brushing

Wood aged with brushing technique

Brushing technology is a simple method of aging wooden furniture using a wire brush, fine-grained sandpaper, a chisel and a drill. Before proceeding with the main process, you need to remove the top layer of wood. Brushing can be combined with surface painting. Use sandpaper and a brush to remove the top layer, and use a chisel and a drill to create furrows and wormholes. The brushing technique is most often used to age the floor and boards. After completing the main stage of work, cover the surface with oil, varnish or stain.

When decorating wooden furniture, it is important not to overdo it, because luxurious furniture can be turned into junk.

Good to know: Brushing is great for furniture made from hardwoods such as walnut, ash, oak and larch. This technique is contraindicated for maple, cherry, beech and teak.

Stain processing

Wood aged with wood stain

This technique is used in combination with others. Coating furniture with paintwork material will achieve the effect of staining. First you need to treat the surface, and then wash off part of the stain with a damp sponge. It is important to leave the edges, bends and cracks darker than the main part of the surface in order to emphasize the effect of aging.

If after the first time you were not able to achieve the desired result, just carefully sand the surface. Some areas can be repainted with a brush dipped in stain. To make the color more saturated, after completing the main stage of work, cover the wood surface with a primer or the desired color. At the very end, go over the surface with antique wax using a soft cloth.

Olding technology (treatment with special compounds)

Wood aged using the aging technique

Olding is a very interesting technique for aging wood. With its help, you can recreate the effects of fading, swamp moss, burnout, etc. Special chemical reagents will help to achieve amazing results. This technique is suitable only for hardwoods (oak, hornbeam, etc.).

This is interesting: If softwood is aged, it will simply become unusable after being treated with strong chemicals.

The final step will be the coating of the surface with varnish. It will serve to protect the surface.

Gilding

To qualitatively age furniture and achieve an antique look, you can use gold platinum. Applying gilding is one of the simplest procedures that does not take much time. Just completely paint the furniture in the chosen color and wait for it to dry.

Useful information: Gold paint must be applied in a thin layer. Only then the furniture after painting will look perfect.

Laiming

Wood aged using the laming technique

Liming is the process of aging furniture with the help of lime effect. First, prepare the surface, degrease it. Treat the wood with a special pigment or paint. Paintwork materials will help to achieve any shade and texture. Apply paint along the fibers. So you emphasize the natural structure of the tree, and add the effect of "clogged dust" to the corners. For best results, it is advisable to apply the liming composition with a brush or gauze swab.

Useful information: When choosing a base color, do not forget that after drying it will look a little lighter.

Video. How to artificially age a tree with your own hands at home

Aged wood is one of the fashion design trends of this season. Using any of the techniques described above, you can easily give surfaces such an effect at home. Artificially aged furniture will harmoniously look in the apartment and fill it with comfort.

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Sometimes emphasizing old age is an original solution to the problem of unsightly sashes. So, beautiful without additional expenses. Of course, the effect should be deliberate - slovenliness is out of place in any interior. do-it-yourself wood aging - methods, tools and materials are described below.

Types of artificial aging of wood

The vintage original look of the doors is obtained in several ways. Below, they are listed in order of increasing effort and cost. The operation algorithm is also described. So:

Thermal method or firing. The process will require a blowtorch and a coarse wood aging brush. The intensity of exposure is determined by the master himself - as a result, you can get pronounced natural patterns of wood or barely visible. After firing, the surface of the canvas is sanded with large emery cloth in different places to create the appearance of heterogeneity. The door for this method of aging should be massive, plank. Appropriate fittings - massive steel handles and.

How to do it right:

Cleared from. Use a hair dryer or solvent. The canvas is carefully sanded, the boards are knocked down so that there are no gaps. Not bad before aging with all sorts of protections - flame retardant, moisture-retaining composition. The existing cracks are left - they will give even more flavor. Hinges and handles are removed. The method takes a little time, it is safe with the skills of working with the tool.

Blackening. The effect is achieved by rubbing shoe polish, stain or a strong manganese solution into the cleaned canvas. Pigmentation lingers on annual rings, sections, knots, and thus, it turns out, the effect of the opening darkened from old age is achieved. In addition, the last composition helps to disinfect the canvas if traces of mold or fungus are detected during cleaning.

How to do it right:

Everything ingenious is simple! To get antique doors, the previously cleaned surface with a solvent and a spatula is covered with black ink, and then the shoe polish melted to a liquid state is rubbed with a brush. You need to rub hard. The method has a drawback - it is important to ventilate the removed door leaf for a week - the smell is unpleasant.

Traces of bark beetle. They represent paths from the movement of the larva. You can create them on the semi-antique door with your own hands using bent nails. Having spread them on the surface, they are driven in with a hammer, leaving dents over the entire area. It is important to free the rods from the hats in order to create a complete imitation. After work, the canvas is sanded with a fine sandpaper, making sure that the chip dust gets a little into the grooves. Next, varnish.

These antique effects are very easy and fast to get. The style of an apartment or house must be consistent, otherwise the effect is inappropriate.

Work with paint and varnish

You can get aged doors in other ways. They will require more time and labor. In addition, costs will increase due to the purchase of several shades of paint. So:

A popular dry brush method. The canvas is cleaned and covered with a base primer. Until the layer is completely dry, with the end of a dry brush, strokes of a different shade are applied. The combination of colors can be different - contrasting or moving from one shade to another. Now the layers are given time to dry. The finished surface is cleaned with emery skins to further highlight the areas of scuffs. Again, a layer of a helmet of a different color is applied. The final color is pale yellow or white, which is used to cover the door with strokes. Allow to dry again and then sand. The final layer is varnish.
Craquelure. Such artificial aging of a tree is done in several ways:

- lacquer and silver. A layer of varnish is applied to the prepared surface. After 30 minutes, it is dried with a hair dryer, as a result of which cracks appear. They are rubbed with silver paint, allowed to dry completely and the resulting effect is varnished.
- PVA glue. With it, create an antique design. A thick layer of glue on a previously cleaned canvas is not allowed to dry completely. A layer of acrylic paint is applied over it and then dried with a building hair dryer.
- gelatin or egg white is another way to age the paint on the tree. The prepared composition is applied to the painted surface with a wide brush - pre-soaked gelatin or protein. Allow to dry naturally and varnish.
- vinegar 9%. They moisten a fresh painted surface in a horizontal position. Cracks appear immediately.

It is important not to overdo it - the doors should be aged, and not put into disrepair.

Mechanical structuring or brushing. The bottom line is to remove the soft fibers of the wood and expose the structure of the tree. For work, a special milling cutter with several nozzles is used - a wire brush for structure, a soft one - for cleaning and emery skins for polishing.

The door laid on a horizontal surface is cleaned by a chemical or hot method, then the machine is used. You can achieve the effect manually, but it will take more time. First they work with a rough nozzle, then they clean the chips and, finally, they polish. During each stage, various compositions are applied to the canvas - stain, ink, shoe polish, so that the further transformation of the old wood goes on continuously. The final step will be varnishing.

Chemical brushing. Suitable as a wood aging effect that does not require the purchase of a special machine. For work, caustic alkalis, acids, ammonia are used. The process takes place away from residential premises in well-ventilated places and with the use of personal protective equipment - gloves, goggles, a respirator. It consists of the following:

- The canvas is cleaned and sanded.
- wetted with a large amount of caustic components.
- after softening the soft layers, processed with hard wire brushes and polishing.

Using the above methods, it is not difficult to artificially age a tree. In addition to the interior, wooden fragments of furniture - legs, armrests - are decorated in the same way.

Features of the wood aging process

Various methods of aging the door surface at home require compliance with the steps and nuances. For example:

Cleaning cloths. Occurs with the use of a building hair dryer or solvents. A spatula is convenient to clean off peeling paint. It is important to remove all visible areas, otherwise they will not get the desired effect. In addition, chemical solutions must be suitable for future staining or varnishing - incompatibility will lead to the formation of bubbles and "husks".
The chemical method of wood aging - brushing with caustic solutions, staining, occurs only with soft woods. Pine, spruce, suitable - oak and larch are only subject to mechanical processing.
The mechanical method is associated with the formation of chips and fine wood dust, so the canvas is periodically moistened with water and debris is swept from the surface with a soft brush. Not with hands - to avoid splinters.
Painting - craquelure, do-it-yourself wood aging with varnish, the dry brush method - should go with thorough mixing of the compositions so that air bubbles do not form on the surface. They, bursting, form ugly pits, and the artificial origin of the canvas becomes clear.

By itself, natural wood is beautiful and new canvases are unlikely to need to be decorated with the methods described. Work should be carried out only with used interior doors in order to give them a second life and save on the purchase of a new set.

Choosing the appropriate design of the room, it has become fashionable to give wood products the effect of antiquity. There are several technologies that will visually add age and make decor details uniquely handmade.

They are easy to use, so you can do it on your own, saving money from the family budget.

Why is this kind of processing necessary?

The whole world around a person is filled with electronic assistants, artificial materials. Under these conditions, it is not surprising that among urban residents it has become popular to use wood in interior design in order to get a little closer to nature.

Carrying out the processing of antique boards or timber, the owner receives an exclusive product, because each tree has its own unique relief.

In addition, the aging technology significantly increases the strength of raw materials, in contrast to the natural effects of the environment and time.

And thanks to the coating of wood with protective solutions and varnishes, its service life is extended, in addition, paint or varnish prevents insects from entering, and prevents the process of wood decay.

This type of decorative finish is used for ceiling beams, flooring, furniture.

However, it is important to understand that not all lumber is suitable for this type of work. You can not use the aging technique for the following types of wood:

cherry, pear (other fruit species);
maple;
alder.

Therefore, for semi-antique wood processing, it is better to purchase hardwoods, perfect for:

nut;
ash;
larch;
pine.

And after performing a high-quality tinting of the product, you can get an imitation of an expensive type of wood, taking as a basis a budget-priced pine or ash tree.

Important! Old trees require more careful processing, as they have many layers with different densities. Therefore, in order to accurately determine the age of raw materials, you need to pay attention to the number of rings on the cut: the more there are, the older the tree.

What methods of aging should be paid attention to?

You can create antiques from furniture in three ways, these include:

But also patination of wood is also distinguished, when special paints, wax or stains are applied to the raw materials in several layers, which, being absorbed, visually give the surface of the product an age.

For masters who will practice such an imitation for the first time with their own hands, it is recommended to practice a little on pieces of boards or timber in order to clearly understand all the nuances of the process.
It should be noted right away that if it is necessary to process the finished product, then it would be correct to initially disassemble it so that the entire surface has a uniform coating.

And to create an author's masterpiece, you should pay attention to wood slightly damaged by insects, the external environment, where there are knots, chips, because in the end such a product will look luxurious. Therefore, it will perfectly complement the kitchen, veranda, living room in the style of "Country", "Provence".

Thematic material:

mechanical way

This type of aging is called wood brushing, since brush in translation from English is a brush. It is this building element that performs the bulk of the work.

With the help of brushes, soft layers are removed from the surface of the wood, and the material acquires a relief. However, the desired effect will be obtained only when the cleaned raw materials are treated with paint or varnish, emphasizing and giving contrast to the pattern.

Important! For brushing, it is necessary to choose a tree with a clearly defined fibrous structure, otherwise the whole processing process may come to naught.

To carry out this method of aging, you need to have the following tools at hand:

Bulgarian;
electric drill;
hard and soft metal brushes;
sandpaper;
paint brushes;
stain;
acrylic paint;

And in order not to harm health, all operations must be performed in an open space, adhering to safety rules.

Important brushing steps

Mechanical aging simulation consists of 3 main steps. Among them:

Chernova. A nozzle made of a metal brush in the shape of a circle is installed on the grinder. The surface is processed along the fibers, while the pressure of the hand should not change so as not to damage the relief of the material.
Finishing or grinding. The electric drill is equipped with a brass brush, a grinder with a less rigid metal brush is also suitable, while the rotational speed of the tool must be reduced. The entire surface is processed, as a result of which various burrs, roughness must be eliminated. And in order for the wood to become pleasant to the touch, it is better to go over the top with sandpaper a couple more times.
Coloring and polishing. The final step, thanks to which the product acquires the expected antique look. A layer of stain is applied to the material, then gently washed off with a rag, due to which only soft parts of the raw material acquire color. If desired, you can add paint in bright colors. After drying, the wood is polished and varnished.

An option for aging products can be the use of craquelure varnish. After applying this varnish, cracks appear on the surface, into which paint can be rubbed and the raw material acquires a contrasting pattern.

wood firing

The impact of the high temperature of the fire on the raw material allows you to achieve the effect of antiquity in a short time.

As a tool, it is better to take a gas burner, since the blowtorch will smoke a lot, which can ruin the surface to be treated.

Operating procedure:

The material is burned by the burner to a depth of 3 mm evenly over the entire area. In this case, you should carefully watch so that the tree does not catch fire.
The charred layer of raw materials is removed with a metal brush.
The surface is polished with sandpaper.
Painting in this case is not necessary, you can simply apply a clear varnish to the product.

But you need to understand that firing indoors is prohibited and life-threatening.

Chemical method

If you decide to use this treatment method, you should immediately stock up on rubber gloves and a protective face mask so that the toxic fumes from the solutions do not cause poisoning.

Alkalis, such as cooker cleaners, are suitable as a base substance. The tree is covered with a solution in several layers and left for about 12 hours, no longer, depending on the substance and type of wood. Then it is thoroughly washed with a solution of vinegar. Its concentration is not more than 1 tsp. for 200 ml of water. When the surface dries, it must be sanded. Acrylic paint is applied to the processed material or varnished.

How much does wood aging cost?

The average price for brushing is from 350 to 1 thousand rubles per 1 m 2. The cost of services depends on the region, breed and size of the material. For example, processing 1 m2 of unpainted hardwood boards will cost 50-100 rubles more than the same lumber from pine or spruce.

If the client wants to immediately order the painting of raw materials, then the cost of work can be safely multiplied by 2. The consumer can find photos of the services offered on any website of the enterprise of interest.

Of course, the prices for such an imitation of antiquity are high. Therefore, you can stock up on the necessary set of tools, patience and make an antique wooden masterpiece at home, the quality of which will not be inferior to factory counterparts.

Not everyone can buy antique furniture, but it is a pity to throw away a table or sideboard that has lost its attractiveness, especially if it is durable and beautiful. An excellent way out of the situation is to age the tree artificially. As a result, you will get a unique interior detail, because aged wood always looks original and original.

In today's article we will tell you how to age a tree with your own hands. Technologically, this process does not present serious difficulties, and the finished material can be used not only in the interior, but also for the construction of fences, gazebos and street decor elements.

Step by step instructions on how to age a tree

The easiest method of aging wood at home with your own hands involves the use of an ordinary wax candle and furniture paint. In this way, you can update any wooden products, giving them a unique antique look (Figure 1).

The step-by-step process of aging a candle looks like this:

First, decide on the base color of the future product. For example, you can use dark brown paint, which at the end of processing will show through the next layers.
To make the base layer, paint the product with wide, chaotic strokes, without painting over the tree completely. Let the paint dry completely.
Now take a candle and, pressing hard on it, rub the surface in several different places. It does not make sense to follow a certain order, since all the charm of the decor will be lost from this.
Next, you need to apply the next coat of paint, preferably a contrasting shade (for example, white). In this case, the entire product is painted over. As with the first coat, the coating must be allowed to dry.
Next, take a rag and wipe the surface hard. In places where the wax has been applied, the second layer will lag behind the surface and brown will begin to show through it.

Figure 1. The easiest way to age is with a wax candle.

You can stop there, but if you want to use more colors, the surface must be waxed again and another coat of paint applied. After it dries, rub the product again with a cloth.

Optionally, the finished decor element can be varnished. But this is not necessary, because over time the paint will begin to gradually lag behind and the effect of antiquity will only intensify.

Ways to age wood with your own hands at home

Above, we examined the aging of wood by the simplest and most affordable method step by step. But there are other, more advanced ways to give products an antique look.

We will consider each of them in detail so that you can choose the appropriate option based on your skills, availability of tools and free time.

brushing technology

The name of this technology comes from the English word "brush", which means "brush". Indeed, you will need this tool, but other tools will be needed for high-quality aging (Figure 2).

Note: The set of tools directly depends on the amount of material that you need to process. For example, in order to make decor from an old chair, you can use a regular hand brush. But, if there is a need to harvest a large amount of wood, it is better to use special nozzles for a drill or grinder.

Brushing is a rather laborious process, but it allows you to preserve the natural pattern of wood, while aging it at the same time.

The procedure is carried out as follows:

The selected board or wooden product is laid on a flat surface and fixed. Then proceed to processing with a manual planer. It is not recommended to use a power tool at this stage, as it leaves small longitudinal scratches that distort the natural pattern of wood.
If you want to give the material a rougher look, you can make several chaotic shapeless chips over the entire area with a chisel or an ax corner.
Now, using a manual metal brush, you need to remove a layer of soft fibers. The brush should only be driven along, pressing it firmly against the material. To reduce dust in the process, you can slightly moisten the tree with water, but before the next steps it will have to be dried.
The final drawing is formed using a special metal brush-nozzle for grinders. Next, you need to sweep away the remaining dust and sand the wood manually or using a special tool.

Figure 2. Basic brushing steps

At the end of the work, the material is re-cleaned of dust and proceed to give the product color. To make it brighter, you must first apply a special primer for wood, and then stain, paint or a layer of glaze.

When the composition is slightly absorbed, the top layer is gently wiped off. To do this, it is enough to run a soft sponge along the fibers 2-3 times. As a result, the color in the recesses will be brighter than in the protruding parts. Now the finished material can simply be varnished. If desired, you can repeat the procedure so that the effect of antiquity is more pronounced.

Applying the patination method

Patination is another affordable way to artificially age a tree. The preparation of the material is carried out in the same way as in the previous case: first, soft fibers are removed from the surface, then the surface is embossed and polished (Figure 3).

After that, you can proceed directly to patination. On the Internet you can find workshops on creating antique wooden products, but if you don’t have time to watch the video, detailed step-by-step instructions will come in handy.

Work is performed in the following sequence:

The tree must be carefully coated with a primer. The composition must penetrate into all natural recesses and grooves. After that, the workpiece must be allowed to dry.
When the primer dries, apply the first coat of paint. It is better to use acrylic, as it lies more evenly and does not peel off after drying. The color can be any, but it must be applied in a continuous layer. In addition, the paint must be allowed to dry completely, so after painting the workpiece is left for a day.
After drying, the workpiece is sanded with fine sandpaper. After grinding, dust is removed and a thin layer of patina is applied with a brush. For wood, metallic shades of bronze or gold are most suitable. It makes no sense to make the layers uniform, since the effect of antiquity will only suffer from this.
When the patina begins to set a little, take a dry rag and wipe over certain areas.

Figure 3. Patination - a simple but effective way to age a tree

The effect of aging largely depends on the quality of the patina chosen for processing. The best is oil: it has a paste-like consistency and is easily applied with a dry brush or a clean cloth. You can also choose a bituminous patina. It has a richer dark color and rubs well with a rag. But the wax patina with mother-of-pearl shine gives the maximum effect of antiquity. At the same time, it can be applied to protruding areas with a brush, and into recesses with a sponge.

Thermal aging

Thermal aging of wood is a simple, but also dangerous way. The fact is that it involves firing the workpiece, therefore, during operation, there should be no flammable objects and liquids nearby (Figure 4).

Note: It is best to carry out work in the fresh air, after checking the serviceability of the blowtorch or burner.

Antique wood heat treatment technique is extremely simple:

The workpiece is placed vertically or laid on a surface of non-combustible material and fired. It is better to move the burner from top to bottom and as evenly as possible so that the top layer of wood is charred by a few millimeters, but the texture of the material is preserved.
When the tree has cooled, the soot is removed manually or with a grinder. The intensity of processing is determined individually, depending on the desired texture.
After that, the workpiece is polished with emery or a special nozzle. Care must be taken, as too intensive grinding can destroy the effect of aging.

Figure 4. The thermal method involves the use of a torch or blowtorch

The main advantage of thermal aging of wood is that after firing it acquires a unique color due to the alternation of dark and light areas. Due to this, it is not necessary to paint the workpiece, it is enough just to cover it with varnish.

Chemical way of aging

Chemicals also help to achieve the effect of aged wood, but they must be handled with care. Work is best done outdoors so as not to inhale chemical vapors. Gloves must be worn on hands.

Note: There are many types of chemicals for aging. But all of them are used after preliminary grinding of the workpiece with coarse sandpaper and dust removal.

The selected chemical is applied to the prepared wood. It can be an alkaline compound or ammonia. Then the tree is left for several hours, previously covered with a film so that the chemical does not evaporate too quickly (Figure 5).

Figure 5. The chemical method requires the use of alkaline substances or ammonia

As a result of this treatment, the wood acquires a grayish tint, characteristic of weathered wood. When the color of the workpiece has completely changed, it is rinsed with water and washed with a bite to wash away any remaining chemicals. To do this, a tablespoon of vinegar is dissolved in a glass of water, but if ammonia was used, vinegar can be omitted. Next, the wood needs to be dried, lightly sanded again and varnished.

Aged wood is usually used in the interior, for example, to decorate a loft-style studio or a Provence-style kitchen. Furniture is most often made from such material, but the style of aged wood is also suitable for outdoor use (Figure 6).

Figure 6. Aged wood can be used in interior and exterior decor.

As a rule, boards processed in this way are used to decorate houses in the German half-timbered style. In this case, rough wooden beams are stuffed on the walls. In addition, aged wood is often used in country style for building fences, making doors or furniture elements.

The stages of wood aging work are shown in the video.

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