TT and I purchased an old church side paneling and pew for 150 bucks. Yup. Be jealous... swoon a bit. The paneling was quite larger. So TT cut, and he hammered, and did other things with a saw. Then we purchased two side posts from Lowes. Stained them in a similar dark oak finish. Also, we stained the paneling again. Attached the bed posts.
Then I came in with some interior semi - gloss valspar paint... Quails Egg. Its like the best color in the world... so get it! I set forth with my pinot grigio and paintbrush. Obvi go with the grain of the wood when you paint. You don't want a super thick layer, just enough so you really don't see the darker wood peaking through too much. HOWEVER, with the detailed gothic carvings, go light with the paint. It makes it a lot easier later on. We let the paint dry overnight. Then I grabbed some 180 grit sand paper and went to town. Consistent pressure and really long strokes with the grain is the key.
The pressure will give you the weathered look.
When sanding... listen to me.. use your hands and the sandpaper. Elbow grease + 180 grit sandpaper is a perfect formula for VINTAGE AWESOMENESS. I have tried to use a sander on it. Yes it gives your hands a rest, however it will not come out nearly as good.
If you use 220 grit sand paper, its too fine. If you use anything less than 180 it is way too course. Have fun with it! The 180 gives it a smooth finish as well. When you finish the gothic detailed carving... remember to try and sand in a consistant direction of the wood. The more you gently sand each curve each detail...it really starts to pop. Please don't make it perfect! It needs to look weathered. So just start experimenting. The best way to learn how to do this is trial and error.
For this finish you will need:
Stain (you may not need to use it if the piece is in decent condition, or if you are not adding additional pieces i.e bed posts to have a similar finish)
Paint (semi- gloss...yes just trust me on this one)
180 grit sand paper (your going to need quite a bit)
and maybe some wine for breaks
Here is the pew. Its delicious isn't it? Yes. Thank you.
This heavy beast was originally about 3 feet longer. So TT took off the end.. then cut it. And then reattached it. I'll post a view of the side gothic detail. Its delicious too. Now "THE PEW" is in the entryway. And we will move it to the farmhouse table (to be built) when we have more guests over for dinner. What did we do with the leftover bench? Um I dunno... maybe make a throne for the table as well ?! You'll have to wait and see ;)
I finished this the same as above. It was also darker stained oak. However, this piece did not need to be stained again. So I skipped that step and went straight to the wine... um painting stage. Don't put on too much paint! It will be that much more work to do in the end. Just remember to keep with the 180 grit sand paper and use long strokes. It's harder but in the end you will achieve the finish you want. I used the same paint as well. Go with the grain people... go with the grain.
