Methods of Antiquing Oak Furniture Staining

Distressing

• Distressing involves literally beating the piece of oak furniture with various tools that are generally found in most homes. Common tools used to distress furniture include a hammer, screwdrivers, scratch awls, bolts, nuts, screws and nails. Distressing tools are not limited only to those on this list. Use your imagination when finding tools to use. Try using a pipe wrench or a pair of adjustable pliers when you practice your distressing technique to see what can be done with them. Every tool will create a unique mark that will make the furniture piece look older than the hills. There are different levels of distressing, too. Light distressing involves a sparse and sporadic beating. Medium distressing involves beating 25 to 50 percent of the surface area of the oak furniture piece. Heavy distressing involves beating 50 to 75 percent of the surface area of the furniture which, for the most part, makes the furniture piece look like a mangled mess and rarely looks good when it is finished. After beating the furniture, wipe wood stain over the entire surface of the piece of oak furniture with a foam brush. Let the stain sit for a few minutes on the wood and wipe the excess off with a cloth rag. Allow some of the stain to remain in the distress holes. Doing this will make the furniture look old, worn and dirty. When the stain is completely dry, apply two to four coats of polyurethane finish over the oak furniture piece to seal in the stain and protect the wood.

Edge Sanding

• Old pieces of oak furniture were often painted, and over time, the paint would naturally wear off in certain areas, like the edges of chair seats, chair rungs and just about every other corner that is exposed to the world. This effect can be mimicked by painting your new oak furniture piece using a light color, like decorator white, cream or off white. When the paint is dry, use a palm sander to remove the paint on the corners and flat surfaces where natural wear would eventually remove the paint anyway. Remove the sanding dust with a tack cloth. Wipe brown-toned wood stain over the entire piece, one area at a time. American oak and dark walnut stain colors work well with this technique. Allow the stain to sit on the sanded and painted surfaces for a minute or two and wipe the excess off with a cloth rag. Then wipe even more excess stain from the painted areas with a cloth rag and turpentine. The turpentine will effectively remove most of the stain on the paint, leaving enough of it to make the piece look old and dirty. The sanded areas will be stained and look dirty from “use over the years.” When the stain has dried thoroughly, apply two to four coats of polyurethane over the whole piece of oak furniture.

Stain Wiping

• This technique is completed in the same way as the edge sanding technique without the sanded edges. Paint the piece with a light-colored paint, wipe stain over the paint, remove most of the stain color with turpentine, and apply two to four coats of polyurethane to the entire piece of oak furniture.