"Aging Basswood" Topic

Does anyone have a good method for giving basswood a nice aged (gray) look? I have built some fences and I wasn't sure if there was an ink wash or stain that could easily be painted on that would give the wood a nice weathered look. I would prefer to avoid priming and painting in various shades of brown and gray.

Check this MicroMark product: link

I haven't used it, nor am I affiliated with MM -- I just notice it in every catalog they send me.

Jeff,

Thanks for the tip on that product. Unfortunately I was hoping to use the fences next week for a game so I don't have time to order it.

I have heard about a 50% Isopropyl alcohol mixed with black ink, has anyone tried this? can it be painted on and would it affect the glue I used (gorilla glue)?

From my experience, nothing affects Gorilla glue. I used it to glue in some concrete pointing between slabs on my outdoor steps- still there two years later through two winters. It's tough stuff.

I just use a diluted wash, typically brown, then drybrush up to whatever final finish I want. You could wash with a gray paint instead. Priming and painting fills the grain. You can scribe in extra or deeper grain if desired.

Schogun,

With your wash did you use a water base or something else?

I use ink and isopropyl alcohol as the base stain. About two teaspoons of ink in a almost pint of alcohol. Goes on dark, dries light gray. Use gray, black, and brown paints for any dry brushing enhancements.
Mike

myxemail

Thanks for your suggestion. I assume the ink you used was black. Was the iso propyl alcohol diluted down at all? Can you just paint this on or do you need to let it soak?

Terrement

Thanks for your suggestions and links. I had seen a couple of those links (vinegar and nail) but wasn't sure how well they worked.

The method I use is to use enamel paint diluted with thinner. I tend to use brown, but I see no good reason why grey could not be used to get the results you want. I use enamel and thinner because this dries quickly enough that it doesn't warp the wood. I've done this for many years with complete success.

Rrobbyrobot

What ratio of enamel paint to thinner do you use? What specific thinner do you prefer?

Thanks

I made fences out of toothpicks for 15mm figures and wanted to do the same age them. Having a few wood stains left over for furniture I made a long container (my fences are 1 to 4 sections) and dropped them in pulled out and let dry. They don't need coating. Easy and quick.

While similar to a couple of the methods mentioned here. Here is a link to my methods for my western town of Calamity

link

Olaf, I made up two batches of the stain: one with one teaspoon of ink, the other with two teaspoons of ink. Variety is good with wood by having some pieces darker than others. I use a paint brush to stain the wood before I cut and glue it. Any exposed edges can be touched up with stain before any drybrushing.

I used black ink. When I have another wood project to do my plan is to try doing some very delicate dry brushing with black, very dark gray, and even off-white before I stain the pieces. I am curious as to how that may help create "grain patterns" in the wood.

Mike

@Olaf03 -- I use plain water and acrylic paint.

Olaf,
I'm not sure of the ratio of paint to thinner. I dip my brush into the paint, but just a bit, then about four dips in thinner. I use Testor's enamel paints and thinner for such.

I just painted mine light gray and washed them in a thin dark brown.

I've had great luck converting the Lemax Christmas village wooden split rail fences for 28mm. After doing the conversion work (removing the top horizontal rail and trimming the vertical posts back a bit) I just slap on Minimax oil-based wood finish, Classic Gray 271, let dry overnight (about 8 hours), then drybrush with a lighter gray acrylic paint. The stain gives the wood a nice natural aged appearance. I've been using the same 8 ounce can for about three years. Easy.

I have also used the India Ink/alcohol mix and had poor results.

The wood stain also works well if you treat your basswood before assembly. Once you have all pieces cut to size, put some stain in a disposable aluminum pie plate, or some such, and put your fence pieces in the stain. After being sure they're well coated, blot them dry with paper towels. Once totally dry, they're ready to assemble into your fence. Then dry brush or use other washes or finishing techniques.

In my experience, this is a lot easier and covers better than painting the wood.

There are other wood stains out there, including water-based, but I haven't tried those.

Thanks for all of the tips. I tried the black ink wash and it seemed to work well. But I have some extra pieces so I may buy some stain that Oabee51 mentioned and see how that compares for future fence sections.