Distressing

**bluegrassplayer** · Mar-28-2006, 8:40am

I've been looking at the distressed Silver Angel mandolin pictures and they inspired me to do that to my IV kit.(If possible)

Would you let the finish sit and fully dry then rub parts of the finish off with steel wool or something similar?

Oh, hereis a link to one.

Thanks for any ideas!

**arbarnhart** · Mar-28-2006, 11:42am

You might try a Scotch Brite pad in a palm sander. Or here's a great picture - hang a dishrag on a car antenna and hold the mando out the window so that the dishrag whipping in wind is beating on it. To get the proper effect, you must drive mountain roads in WV well above the speed limit with a trunk full of moonshine under a full moon with headlights off. The state patrol should be in hot pursuit. Under these circumstances, I would become quite distressed.

But I was serious about the Scotch Brite...

**8ch(pl)** · Mar-28-2006, 12:31pm

Just give it to me for a few weeks to use as my beater.

**fatt-dad** · Mar-28-2006, 12:34pm

(not kidding here. . . .)

Would a blowtorch help? I'm thinking of some delicate singeing prior to adding the stain/finish? Also, don't the use of chains factor into this equation? You know, some delicate chain dragging across the peghead, back, sides, etc.?

f-d

**PaulD** · Mar-28-2006, 12:50pm

Originally Posted by (fatt-dad @ Mar. 28 2006, 11:34)

(not kidding here. . . .)

Would a blowtorch help? I'm thinking of some delicate singeing prior to adding the stain/finish? Also, don't the use of chains factor into this equation? You know, some delicate chain dragging across the peghead, back, sides, etc.?

f-d

How's about a fire poker?

Good distressing is an art. One cabinet shop I worked in had a steel roller with random welding "lumps" on it that we used to distress doors. Looked like CR@P if you ask me! Whatever you do, keep it subtle and don't try to rush it. It's easier to do a little more later than to undo it if you go too far.

I'm not a fan of intentional distressing... but to each his or her own. That Silver Angel job is great... it looks old without looking beat up.

pd

**Antlurz** · Mar-28-2006, 1:46pm

A hundred yards of gravel road, a pickup truck and twenty feet of rope should do it...

Ron

**Steve Davis** · Mar-28-2006, 2:11pm

Just play it a lot.

**thistle3585** · Mar-28-2006, 4:04pm

Pay attention to the natural wear spots. I used to do a distressed finish on arts and craft style furniture, and it would always look bad if I got carried away and distressed it in areas that normally wouldn't show wear. Personally, I didn't like the distressing around Ken's F holes. It seemed out of place. Take a look at Monroe's mandolin, or even Skagg's, and that should give you an idea of natural wear and tear. I heard someone at Gibson once mention scratching the headstock with the end of strings to simulate 50 years of string changing. When you rub the finish off the wood, use something coarse to reveal the texture of the grain, then come back over it with something smoother to get the worn wood look. After we were done with the "distressing" we would wipe the whole piece down with an oil base walnut stain, let it sit for awhile then wipe it off. This would give it a grimy look.

**Stillpicking** · Mar-28-2006, 4:25pm

Don't use steele wool the metal fibers can break off and get into the finish. Use one of those micro polishing cloths and TAKE YOU TIME don't try and do it over a weekend.

I also used sandpaper in spots starting with an 800 grit and then went to 1000 grit. You don't want to take too much off. You want slow control over the process, think of it as an art project and not as a refinishing job.

I distressed a Morgan Monroe and it turned out nice at least I think so.

Make sure that you take off all the hardware as you can't do a good job overall with the tuners, bridge and tailpiece on they just restrict the creative process too much.

Make sure that you work in an area that has good lighting so you can see and evaluate your progress as you SLOWLY go.

Have fun !

**Antlurz** · Mar-28-2006, 8:49pm

You might also be aware that the finish right up next to the bridge and tailpiece won't show wear, or at least very little, so don't take the finish off all the way up to and under them. They offer a natural barrier to contact up close.

Ron

**Greenmando** · Mar-28-2006, 9:41pm

Might want to leave a lit cigarette on it for that special burn.

**Monte37** · Apr-01-2006, 7:51pm

This concept of "distressing" a mandolin has got me a bit interested in knowing more about...Why?!
Kinda like buying jeans already looking old and frayed for 2 hunderd bucks at the mall. What is the matter with seeing a perfectly new great looking mandolin in the first place? The distressing will occur in no time on its own...I guess I have been distressing my mando for 30 years now, and its still solid but "rode hard and hung up wet." But, I really liked seeing it when it was brand spankin new in the case too.
To actually take an abrasive to a mandolin is quite a concept as I worked to prevent it as much as possible, and it still did a good job of distressing itself by just playing it.
Saturday nite, and here I am posting. I should be out playin and de-stressing.
cya mandoliners

**Dave Hanson** · Apr-01-2006, 8:21pm

Can someone explain to me, here in the UK. where we sell new mandolins that look new, what is the point of ' distressing ' a new instrument ?

Dave H

**Stillpicking** · Apr-01-2006, 8:50pm

OK I'll give you my rational, I own 4 mandolins one is about 90 years old and the other 3 are under 5 years old.

I have distressed only one of the 3 which I got a great deal on used and I didn't care for the "factory" satin finished as it looked rather "stiff". It was also a bit thick as most middle grade mandos are. So my thinking was to carefully age it a bit to get rid of the "factory" look and at the same time reduce the thickness of the finish in order to get the top to move a bit more and improve the tone and loudness.

Final result finish looks much better than normal "factory" finish and it did improve the sound.

Just my reasons why and almost forgot it was fun to do.

**Spruce** · Apr-01-2006, 10:29pm

"Would a blowtorch help?"

You want to think of what natural wear would look like, and try to approximate it...
I don't know anyone who has subjected their mandolin to a blowtorch (maybe #### Flakefield), but apparently some folks seem to think that this is "normal" wear...

Old fiddles have a distinctive wear pattern on the back plate from being dragged in and out of those old wooden cases, and this wear can be approximated by applying duct tape to the finished varnish and then quickly ripping it off...
It's a cool look that wouldn't technically apply to duplicate the wear on an 80-year-old mandolin, but I'd give it a go anyway....

Scraping away varnish in the appropriate areas, and then applying the fine dirt and dust that one finds in the bottom of a vaccum cleaner is effective for getting "that" look...

Different coats of varnish with much different drying speeds can give you "that" crackle, but it's tricky to get the right look.
'Teens Gibson crackle is really tough to nail, and I've stumped some pretty good violin antiquers as to how one might go about doing that...

Stick a ciggie in the peghead and let it do it's thing...

Draw the circles that a dragging string might make around the tuning pegs...

Throw quarters at the peghead and body, but watch out for the F-holes...

Normal pick wear and belt buckle wear can be duplicated with the real deals...

"Can someone explain to me, here in the UK. where we sell new mandolins that look new, what is the point of ' distressing ' a new instrument"

It's common in the violin world (yes, even in the UK), for the owner of a violin that cost 25K in the 60's, to wake up and discover that it's worth several million dollars and is going to cost a lot to insure it.

The solution is to commission a bench copy of the fiddle, and then park the original in a safe...

The bench copy attempts to copy the wear and tear of the original so that the owner shows up at rehearsal and no one's the wiser as to whether or not it's the real deal or a bench copy...
Seems reasonable to me, and is driving a lot of the market these days for new making....

It has now carried over into the mando and electric guitar world, but it's origins are in the violin world and it's been going on for a long long time...

I'm sure you'll see it someday with folks who own valuable mandolins, and in fact I know several well-known makers and players who are planning on going this route even as we speak...
Getting the "right" wood is step #1...

**Dave Hanson** · Apr-02-2006, 1:30am

If you want an old looking instrument then BUY one, not a new one. It doesn't fool anyone.

Dave H

**arbarnhart** · Apr-02-2006, 7:36am

I have discovered a new distressing technique - let me try to French polish it.

Seriously, as a side effect of my troubles with polishing (too much sheallac, had to take it off) the ribs ended up looking somewhat distressed. I used oil based stains and the alcohol didn't have much effect on the finish. But it's a flat top and taking the finish off evenly on the ribs was more of a problem than the top and back. I got a few worn looking spots.

**Bill Halsey** · Apr-02-2006, 8:57am

The whole thing about "distressing" or antiqueing is to add interest to the eye. At its best, it suggests a lifetime of artistic experience. And yes, it is like buying new, faded jeans with the knees blown out. It seems to have become some trendy but, any way you slice it, it's for wannabees.
After several decades in the restoration game, I can offer this... if you're going to attempt to artificially patina an instrument, be prepared to give the subject a lot of study. Once the process is begun on a new instrument, it must be brought to completion in absolutely every detail. Genuine wear ("noble blemish" as it's called in the trade) effects every part and surface of an instrument, and inattention to any part of the process will surely result in an artificial appearance. Even mere age and exposure to air and UV have their effects.
Successful antiquing is very much an art form unto itself and involves its own set of skills and perceptions. Our eyes and senses are brutally perceptive, and not easily pleased by visual fibs.
Not to be too fastidious over all this, but for all the fuss made over the DMMs, the few I've seen are really not all that well done. Given the choice, particularly for market value, give me the most carefully made, best sounding, naturally new one I can find. End of lecture.
If one wishes to persue it, a good place to start might be to study the new instruments of Roger Hargrave, Gregg Alf or Sam Zygmuntowicz for good examples of this art. And be prepared to spend fully half as long as it took to build the instrument. Real end of lecture.

**Antlurz** · Apr-02-2006, 2:30pm

I've noticed some folks concentrate on making a certain area(s) look worn when in fact, on a truly worn instrument, that area would show little to no wear at all. Inducing a perfectly well worn look on a part of an instrument that would never show wear is exactly the opposite of the desired result.

It desroys what otherwise might be interesting to look at and marks it as a phoney.

Ron

**Dave Hanson** · Apr-02-2006, 10:04pm

I just can't see the point of it all, it must be just vanity.

Dave H

**Dave Hanson** · Apr-02-2006, 10:07pm

I suppose if you want the ultimate ' distressed ' mandolin, get someone to smash it up with a poker, like Bills F5

Dave H

**Bill Van Liere** · Apr-03-2006, 9:17am

Originally Posted by (Dave Hanson @ April 02 2006, 03:30)

If you want an old looking instrument then BUY one

Agreed. In the case of an old Gibson F5 this means selling the house and trying to live out of a mandolin case.

**fatt-dad** · Apr-03-2006, 9:58am

Originally Posted by (Dave Hanson @ April 02 2006, 23:04)

I just can't see the point of it all, it must be just vanity.

Dave H

Personally, I think part of the point is folks building an IV kit typically have no idea of how to finish the instrument. If the goal is to do a half-$%@ job and disguise it as "distressing" you may succeed. If the goal is to do a delicate sunburst with a high-gloss finish, it may just look like an amature project.

I'm a few weeks away from knowing which way I'll go, but either way it'll be fun and it won't be done out of vanity.

f-d

**bluegrassplayer** · Apr-03-2006, 10:09am

Just so you now...
I'm only 14 so I'm don't exactly have the funds to even buy a bottom-of-the-line Gibson.

Oh, my mandolin teacher has a Paganoni(I think that is how you spell it) that he got from Doyle Lawson about 30 years ago and he playes it all the time, so it is well worn. I know that the mandolin that I am building is an A model, but that is the one that I will be looking at for a model.

Thanks for all the good advise,
Micah

**Spruce** · Apr-03-2006, 11:36am

"I'm a few weeks away from knowing which way I'll go, but either way it'll be fun and it won't be done out of vanity."

That's it in a nutshell...
It's fun to do this stuff, and the market happens to love the results...

Here's a prediction.
You'll soon be seeing a copy (or 10) of 73987, complete with snapped-off peghead scroll and scratched out inlay....

And a few antiqued 74003's will be kicking around as well....