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| vintage drawer pulls too brassy |
If you read my old green dresser posting, you'll remember that I had some vintage rustic drawer pulls that I wanted to darken a bit to reduce their brassiness. I had heard that I could use a dark wax rub on metal hardware to produce an aged and blackening effect.
After my trip to Lowes and a few other stores, I could only find clear (natural), not dark wax furniture paste. Ordering online was a option, but then there was the big shipping fee and added delay. So I decided to make my own dark wax.
I got this idea from watching Bruce Johnson's tutorial video on
dark waxing, he was refinishing an authentic Stickely chair.
dark waxing, he was refinishing an authentic Stickely chair.
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| set wax can in pan of hot water on low heat until liquefied...watch closely then remove melted wax can using a hot mit or pliers and place on newspaper |
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| scoop out several tablespoons of stain and add to liquefied wax until you reach desired color, stir well with a paint stick, I just grabbed a clean stick from the yard to do this |
All you need is one can of clear finishing wax paste and your choice of wood stain color, I used a dark walnut. After liquefying wax in pan of hot water, add stain and mix well. Wait for can to completely cool before returning the lid, then allow your new mixture to harden overnight.
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| the next day your dark wax paste is ready to use |
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| with soft cloth I rubbed wax onto the drawer pulls and let dry |
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| after about 15 minutes i buffed the pulls with a soft cloth, then applied a second coat and repeated the process again |
I let them cure for a couple of days to let the wax harden well. then I gave the drawer pulls one final buff before putting them on the old green dresser.
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| let hardware cure for several days and then give a final buffing before installing |
The wax will harden and the hardware will have a nice soft durable sheen, plus I was pleased with the look they had after the dark wax rub was applied, not so brassy and more antiqued, just right.
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| hardware now ready for installation |
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| the dresser...all spruced up |
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| perfect! |
3 comments:
can this wax be used on furniture painted with chalk
paint?
This is brilliant. Who thought dark paste wax would be so hard to find? But I had the very same experience, running from little hardware store to giant box stores--at Home Depot the nice employee said I was the second person in 5 minutes to ask her for it.
I'm from Western New York too! (Fredonia)
I am also from Western NY, Arcade. I want to make just a small amount of dark wax. Do you have a general ratio of stain to was I could try? I hate to waste a lot of products and time just winging it! Thaks!
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