To make a new wooden door look old?

[Crosley.In.AZ]

The past few weekends and evenings when I had time I have built an over head storage platform inside my shop.

What I plan on building on the side shown is a faux gas station front. No pumps will be there, just the front of an old gas station.  Human door , window , mayb a faux roll up garage door.

I have an old window we bought at an antique place 3 years ago.  I've NOT found an old door at a reasonable price  to use.  The door or window will NOT open / move. This is only for appearance of the faux station look.

How would I go about making a new door LOOK old , weathered , peeling paint from about 35 coats of paint?

I am not looking for a serious , near perfect look , just want the door to look weathered.... the dirty finger prints on stuff will be easy for me to create.

[enjenjo]

put on a first coat, oil based, dab some vasoline here and there as needed, edges and so forth, second coat, latex, power wash the paint to pop it off the vasoline, and do it again, in other areas. last coat, dry brush the last coat.

[Pope Downunder]

How would I go about making a new door LOOK old , weathered , peeling paint from about 35 coats of paint?

I am not looking for a serious , near perfect look , just want the door to look weathered.... the dirty finger prints on stuff will be easy for me to create.

You can by stuff at the house paint stores to give the crazed effect as well.  You paint it on, then paint over it, and it 'magically' generates that crazed finish.

[BFS57]

Hello;
Well, You do live in Arizona, my experience (just passin through) has been that I saw a bunch of what looked to be "deserted" buildings. Why couldn't you just look around? Or, I've had luck with "distressing" a new wooden object to make it look old. What I did was beat the bejevers out of it with a heavy chain, then take paint (oil based) using a brush, smear it on and use a rag to wipe some of it off!
Probly best to use the "distressing" and the antique paint system available at the local home improvement (did I say improvement?) store.

Bruce

[Dirk35]

Id Talk to local contract workers, the ones that work out of their home or a trailer (Many advertise on weekend classifieds to get odd jobs). Call a few, one should know someone with a pile of old lumber behind his shop from taking a building down. Also, Go to the local repo-mobile home sales site. Those things come in trashed and they will have at least two such contract workers that repair the homes for re-sale and theyll know somebody with such lumber. Youll be able to haul just about everything you need to build what you want for free to $50 if you find the right guy.

Another idea is the hit the Antique shops. I know I always see old doors and windows for just such projects.

Another idea is to drive around rual areas and look for a barn, or old garage that is falling down and offer to take it down for free if they let you keep the lumber. Itll cost you a few trips to the dump and a few days labor (taking them down is easy), but you might end up with enough lumber to faux finish every wall inside the entire shop. Me and my dad built an entire garage this way when I was 14. Took it down in Cushing, and built it with new frame work and me scraping the paint on the clapboard sides in Stillwater.

Now, if your like me, and lazy and want sooner results, Home improvment stores sell a paint in three stages. You paint the base coat. Then apply another coat of a clear liquid. Then apply a different color, and the clear liquid stuff makes the top layer of paint crackle.....looks like old almost instantly. Also, if you can choose the ideal situations (enviromental factors) that you would want to paint it, then choose the oppoisite, itll help to get crappie results.  Try painting it too thick and too dry. Use a crappie brush on a cold damp morning, and dont wait for the coats to dry properly between.


ALso, for more ideas on how to screw up a good paint job, do a search and look for where Don was replicating the old paint on his 32' green roadster. His came out the pictures he posted matching the old paint pretty well, and he posted how he did it too.

[jaybee]

In addition to all of the above you can use a sander on areas of that are likely to see the most wear.  Edges, around the knob, near the bottom, any place you can imagine hundreds of contacts wearing away the paint over time.  Then do your oil stain, dry brushing, and other "grime" effects over the top.

[unklian]

Heat lamps are good for distressing.
So is the Sun.

[phat46]

Heat lamps are good for distressing.
So is the Sun.

I was gonna suggest just painting it really nicely and leave it outside in the Az. weather for about a month...

[Sean]

I've seen new wooden floors distressed by throwing handfuls of tacks, screws, and gravel all over it then rolling over the whole mess with a lawn roller. After they swept everything away, they applied Linseed oil very heavily with a mop, followed with a thorough coating of sawdust. After they swept up the sawdust and let the Oil dry a couple days it looked pretty much like an "old" hardwood floor that had been refinished.

I guess that isn't quite the look you are going for, but it may be that you can use a similar process to achieve the desired results. Maybe stain the wood with used motor oil around the knob area, combined with sanding paint away to simulate wear and "aging" the paint that stays. Chalky, old paint can probably be simulated, along with the cracked finish that has already been suggested.

I think I would try to acquire an old door off a deserted building though, first...

[Crosley.In.AZ]

you guys have given me some good idears to use.

i'd love to find an old  rough 20 - 30 dollar door at an antique place like we found the winder. For some reason the old doors are 4 - 5 times that amount.

[enjenjo]

You need the door I took off the old shed out back, it has cracked paint, cracked wood, dents, and several colors showing. It heated the garage for a couple hours

[Crosley.In.AZ]

You need the door I took off the old shed out back, it has cracked paint, cracked wood, dents, and several colors showing. It heated the garage for a couple hours

well now dammit , you shoulda stayed quiet

I probably should try to build the door myself. With my wood working skills , it would look old

[enjenjo]

I think there is another one out in the barn, with pigeon poop and all. You can have it, as long as you pay for me to deliver it.