Antiquing Paint / Faux Wood Finishes

A. Hi Sue. I know the look you're speaking of because I did a couple of beds and dressers that way in the '60s and '70s. In one case we painted them with a dull reddish paint, then streaked them with a translucent grey stain; in another case we painted them off-white and streaked them with a brownish-goldish color. They certainly didn't actually look like any actual antiques, but it was a very popular look. These days colored waxes rather than stains are apparently used for that second layer, and the look is probably more authentic, but different.

You can hopefully find something that works in a generally similar fashion by hunting for 'antiquing kit' or 'faux wood finish' or 'milk paint', but the chances of being able to actually match a finish of this sort applied 50+ years ago is zero. If by a miracle you had the exact same product it wouldn't look the same newly applied vs. applied 50 years ago anyway. It's time to either mix-&-match or update the whole set :-)

Luck & Regards,

A. You can still find books that tell you how to lime raw oak, which is still one of the most attractive finishes. -tom

A. I did that a few times long long ago too. As I recall you painted the furniture then rubbed a brownish translucent staining solution over it to give variegated patterns.

That finish isn't "in" at present, so it's harder to find. But I think names have changed too, so if you search for 'faux finishes wood' rather than 'antiquing' you may meet with more success.

I see these days that the 'aging' effect is done with dark waxes: you give it a fresh coat of paint, then apply dark wax to the recesses, and buff it to give a very realistic aged look. 'Retique It' has a video on Amazon that shows this dark waxing effect.