How do I get an antique effect on figurines ?
The antique effect on figurines only comes to life when two varnishing techniques are combined, imitating the real crackling that naturally occurs with age on varnished work such as figurine or painting. To achieve this, you would need a figurine, gum Arabic, white acrylic paint and Latex based varnish. If you don’t have any of these items, you can just buy two product varnishing kit, acrylic based varnish for sealing and tinted wax or oil paint diluted with Turpentine.
First method is using the two varnishing kits to obtain an antique effect on a figurine. You can do this by applying a single coat on your figurine with your first varnish and let it dry. Then, apply another single coat of the second varnish and you will start to notice cracks appearing on your figurine’s surface. Make sure to follow the instructions on the varnishing kits you are using for best result.
You can also use the traditional way in getting an antique effect on the figurine – apply latex-base varnish generously. The names of these varnishes differ from country to country. You can visit your art shop to tell you what to latex-base varnish to choose. Once the latex base-varnish has dried, use a spatula or your hands and apply gum Arabic on our figurine. Again, you see cracks appear on your figurines surface.
When you finished with the two methods, you can now apply a coat of diluted oil paint or tinted wax and wipe it immediately after application. The cracks will trap the paint enhancing the antique looks of your figurine. Lastly, finish your project by applying compatible varnish on the figurine. That is it! You have your antique figurine with crack with age finish. If you want to speed up your project, you can use hair dryer to dry you varnish applications much faster.
December 2nd, 2011 at 2:58 pm
Thanks for posting this information on your blog! Great Work