Can anyone tell me how to age wood to make it look like drift wood? KenMelchiorre@aol.com
You might try a wash of a few drops of India ink in alcohol.
Years ago, there was a modeler who used to put stripwood, and even partially finished models, in his eavetrough gutters for months on end.
This , I would think, is not for the faint of heart, or those in a hurry.
regards / Mike
One way I have done what you want to do is to:
(1) take a propane torch and burn some of the
SOFT FIBER out partially and extinguish with
water.
(2) Clean the entire surface with a WIRE WHEEL on
a FLEX SHAFT or ELECTRIC DRILL, pay
particular attention to the areas where the
soft fibers were burnt out but DO leave some
of of the dark scorched wood.
(3) Let the article of wood DRY compleatly and
sand lightly before moving to step-4
(4) Stain the article of wood with a driftwood
stain to get the desired color. You may have
to mix colors to get YOUR desired color.
Being in the FIRE SERVICE for over 30 years, I DO RECOMMEND that steps 1 & 2 are conducted in the YARD or somewhere outside of a building and with a GOOD WATER SUPPLY.
emipapa
And, years ago, I read in MR of a modeler who buried them in his garden for a few months. Same comments.
…Bob
years ago there was a piece in MR about a guy who put strip wood on the front bumper of his car for a few weeks or months.
This idea and some of the ones listed above (all of which seem likely to make the wood unusable due to warping) makes me suspect that there is something about the desire to make wood look like driftwood that brings out the mad scientist in model railroaders.
Dave Nelson
I remember that there was a article on aging wood.
they took steel wool and put it in vinegar. once the wool was disolved, they placed the wood into it. It gave it a rusty look. I know this isn’t drift wood, but after doing this, it might get the drift look if you take some white paint deluted and a cloth and wipe it over the wood.
Tony
that was in an article in RAILROAD MODEL CRAFTSMAN in the 80s (I think it was in 86). They said you could get various colors, depending on what you put in the vinegar. Steel Wool makes a dark, reddish-brown color. I don’t know what to use to make a driftwood color, though.
Hey Hey, did you no that there are commercial stains avalable to give that diftwood effect? Since diftwood is a product of the ocean, wind, sunlight and salt it is hard to take your scale lumber to the beach and weather it naturally. I know there are wood patima’s available to enhance rewood wood to that fine silver look of age. A little searching on the internet will provide you with not only information but also time to see what is available to woodworkers. I have gotten allot of driftwood from the beach and have cut it in my woodshop to scale size lumber. Used it to build eveything from outhouses to seaside depots. River driftwood is a good source of building material as long as there aren’t to my linear cranks in the wood. Be careful with cemical to stain or change wood to your needs, you wnat to live to see you work on your layout. Another thing is those that comment on using fire or soldering irons to decorate wood, well I find it to much of a problem and it is dangerous, your home could go up in flames as well as your layout. PRACTISE CAUTION AND BE A GOOD MODELER
There is a commercial product called “Weather It” that does a great job of weathering unpainted wood. I also use a solution of approximately a couple drops of either black leather dye or India ink to 8 oz. of isopropyl alcohol.
Another product is called “Age-It Easy” sold by MicroMark (http://www.micromark.com) for $6.75 per 3.5 ounce bottle, plus shipping, available in either Gray or Brown. I have had varying degrees of success with this product. Heartwood requires more than one treatment because the solution does not soak into it as well as some softer woods, such as balsa. One bottle should last a lifetime as long as you’re only building models for your own use and not selling them commercially.
I once experimented by droping the piece of wood into my aquarium for a week. The tanine in the wood turned the water white and killed two fish. The wood looked like new and the whole experiment was a complete failure.[V][sigh]
I know that drift wood is sold in wal-marts and in any pet-shop that sells aquarium ornaments, but I don’t know if that is what you’re looking for.