Antiqued wood sign tutorial

   I have been making these for a couple of years now.  There are several steps to them.  I use rough cut lumber from the lumber yard.  I have a huge stack of it in my barn.
 
   I then have to plane it and router the edges.
 

I then stain the sides and the back.  I let it dry completely then paint the front of the sign with a white latex paint.  It usually takes a couple of coats.  I let that dry completely and sand with a fine sandpaper.
 
   I then either hand paint the words on the sign or sometimes I use my vinyl cutting machine. I have a Roland GX-24.  I can have the machine cut out the saying for me and I apply it to the sign. 
   Then I use a 2 step crackle process.  I brush on step 1 and let it dry completely, then I brush on step 2.  I like to put them both on kind of thick to make larger cracks in the finish.  After the sign has dried overnight you will see the cracks have appeared in the finish. 
   I then take an antique gel and brush it onto the sign.  I add just a little water to thin the gel so that it goes into all of the cracks.  After I have a nice coating applied, I wipe it off with a soft towel.  The gel will settle into the cracks.


   I then let that dry completely and then I am ready to paint the grapevine and berries onto the bottom of the sign. 

   After it is dry, I measure and drill holes at the top of the sign to add the wire for hanging.  This of course is optional.  I curl the wire and attach it to the sign.  I then add the berries and bow for the finishing touch! 
Thanks for visiting.
Have a good weekend!

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