Best way to age wood?

[slodocs]

Im making a replica of the cricket bat from Shaun of the Dead. i bought a new bat made in Pakistan. The wood is a very light color.

Does anyone have advice on the best way to give the bat an aged look like the one in the movie. Some say use tea, others just apply a stain. What gives the best results? Also should i distress (create dings) the bat before aging or after?

Thanks

-Slodocs

 

[postmortem01]

Latex wash. Do several very light coats until you get to the point you want. Don't try to do it in one shot. You'll need to remove the sealer before you do this though. You can also try leaving some of the sealer in areas to give it a more uneven look.

 

[Wesman]

Hey, Slodocs-

I agree with the latex (paint) wash, and yes, sand off sealers first. If you really want it distressed, you could sandblast it first to try to raise the grain a bit or just use a stiff wire brush with the grain. Ding it up with chain or whatever before the washes. And I would probably seal it after you are done with either a satin polyurethane or shellac. Cheers.

Wesman

 

[cayman shen]

There's a viagra joke in there somewhere...

 

[Paracord Junky]

sand it
stain it
rinse and repeat
QUICKLY run it over an open flame. the aim here is to discolor it
paint a wood pole with barn paint and take the bat to it(don't let the paint dry first, obviously).

viola.

(i've used this technique to age wooden dice, minus the barn paint).

alternately, you could toss it into the back yard and leave it there for a month or two(what Indygear-heads would call "natural distressing").

 

[slodocs]

thanks for the help, I will post pictures showing my progress

 

[RPGnerd]

Lightly sand, stain with Tea. Spritz lightly with lemon juice and sodium peroxide and leave out in the sun until desired effect is reached.

You can spritz it with paint or bleach as well but be careful.