Easy Antiqueing!

When painting a carving with full strength paint, you'll usually get a carving that is quite bright in color. For those that do not not like this stark brightness they water the paint down, and use it as a wash. This results in a softer looking carving. Some carvers will still want to soften and age the carving a bit. There are several methods to achieve this. The following method is perhaps the easiest and, in my opinion, the safest. I say safest, because it is very easy to ruin a good carving with to much antiquing. There is a difference between a dirty looking carving and one with a soft touch of age. What I have discovered is as follows: 1. Paint the carving with a this wash of color 2. Apply a paste wax, and let dry 3. Buff the carving with a brush that you use to buff carving that have a colored (dark) wax applied, such as MYLANDS ANTIQUE MAHOGANY. I use a shoe brush. Before buffing the carving with the regular wax, rub the brush on a rag and test it on a piece of scrap wood, to be sure the brush is not too loaded up. The result is a soft antique look.