Making an old tool cart with fresh paint look older again...need advice.

[KraftwerkMk1Jetta]

I have this old tool cart type thing my father gave me to use as a welder cart for my new MIG welder. It's pretty cool, (Sorry I haven't got any pics yet) definately older and U.S. made. It was filthy from years of being in a shop, so I spent a long time cleaning it and sanding it for fresh paint. I decided on traditional red paint, with dark grey legs and it has one drawer on it that i painted dark grey. Now that it's all painted, it almost looks too "fresh" for lack of better words. I'd like to maybe weather it, or somehow make it a little bit old again. I was thinking of taking some high grit sandpaper, maybe like 1200 grit, and scuffing it up a bit. Has anyone ever doen something like this before, maybe to an old toolbox or something? Thanks!

[Coach James]

Never done that to make something looked more worn or older.

Wouldn't using it as much as possible accomplish the same thing and look like more "natural" wear?

Coach

[Frank Elson]

can you not leave it outside for a week or so?

[Bolster]

I'd like to maybe weather it, or somehow make it a little bit old again. I was thinking of taking some high grit sandpaper, maybe like 1200 grit, and scuffing it up a bit. Has anyone ever doen something like this before, maybe to an old toolbox or something? Thanks!

I understand completely. I used to refinish antiques and then had to 're-age' them convincingly, it's called "distressing." And I really do not like new looking antiques.

Yes, that's exactly what you want to do, use a high grit paper on the corners and edges (or steel wool). You want to dull the gloss on high wear areas, even sand through to metal on the corners if you're bold enough. When the bare metal rusts, it'll be convincingly old. A couple of dings in the paint won't hurt either.

[dps]

It depends on how beat you want to make it. You can start gently (and easily reversible) by rubbing it down with black or brown shoe polish. Buff it off; it will stick in cracks, crevices, corners, pinholes in the paint, etc. Then dust it heavily with a soft paintbrush dipped in rottenstone (a very fine ground limestone) available in hardware and paint stores. Wipe or blow off all the excess. Enough will stay behind to be the "dust of ages" and will subtly patina the look of the paint.

[Lookin4'67Galaxieconv]

I have this old tool cart type thing my father gave me to use as a welder cart for my new MIG welder. It's pretty cool, (Sorry I haven't got any pics yet)

Hope you got some before and after pics when you post them. :beer:

[bgott]

You could try using it for a few years and see if it ends up looking "distressed".

[terabyte]

i think you should just USE IT :)
in 20 years or so it will look well used again

[rsanter]

I do not understand making it like new and then making it look old again.
I would say use it, and truly make it worn in

bob

[Bolster]

Well, the problem is, it probably doesn't look new. It probably looks newly painted. There's a big difference.

[Vicegrip]

Let my 3 year old boy play with it for 30 min.

[KraftwerkMk1Jetta]

Well, the problem is, it probably doesn't look new. It probably looks newly painted. There's a big difference.


Exactly. It has dings, and small dents and stuff on it, underneath the fresh paint, it just doesnt' look right. Like I said, before I painted it, it had probably 25 or 30 years of grime, paint overspray and drips from whomever used it throughout the years as a paint stand, and so on. I dissasembled the casters and you should have seen the pile of dirt and grime that was caught up in them. I'm very anal about being clean, and I couldnt justify putting my new 500 dollar MIG welder on something liek that. I just want to take that freshly painted look down a notch or two.

[eschoendorff]

Well, the problem is, it probably doesn't look new. It probably looks newly painted. There's a big difference.

Roger that.


This is seriously interesting...

There seems to be a market for new "antique" looking goods. I think I remember seeing some paint treatments in the paint dept at Home Depot for just such a thing. Might check it out - for some ideas....

[Rickster]

Tie a rope to it and drag it over a gravel road! How about hitting it with a scotchbrite pad? In a previous job we were all issued the Federal Register every year - that's the EPA's book of regulations. Our department had to make interpretations of those regs. Most kept theirs like new but the first thing I did was throw it on the floor, jump on it and kick it around the office floor for a while until it became all dog-eared and bent up. Never was questioned when I whipped that thing out and gave direction!

[RickP330]

Overspray will make anything look old in 5 seconds flat. Take a rattle can of dark blue or black and stand 8 feet away outside and "fog" it. that ought to do it LOL.
RickP

[Bolster]

Fresh paint in the 'dings' is what will give it away as a new paint job. Gotta concentrate on scuffing up the dings, so no fresh shiny paint is found at the bottom of them.

There is no quick easy way of distressing a piece, no "overall" anything that will make it look convincingly aged. Gotta think about how an old piece really is, and duplicate that (like missing paint at the bottom of a dent, etc.)

[davestonner]

one thing i do when distressing an "antique" piece of furniture is to (gently, underhand) throw a few handfuls of rusty nuts and bolts at it a few times. the idea with the shoe polish is good too. rub it on and buff it off and it will get in the crevices a bit for some instant age. also, don't overdo any of these "antiquing" processes...too much can be worse than none at all. restraint. restraint. restraint.

d.

[KraftwerkMk1Jetta]

i will try scuffing up the dings and maybe lightly sanding it with 1200 grit paper. The shoe polish method sounds interesting too.

Here are some pics of the cart in question. There is embossing on the back of it, it says LYON and underneath York, PA. I guess LYON was the manufacturer?

Anyway, this is the only pic I have of it before, you can sort of see it
and the overspray and junk on it
http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b245/sloppy-ollies/welder1-1.jpg

Here are a couple from this afternoon after I re-assembled it after paint.
http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b245/sloppy-ollies/cart2.jpg
http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b245/sloppy-ollies/cart.jpg

[Moose-LandTran]

I dropped a ramp on my HF tool cart, makes it look nice and used with the buckle in it. I was surprised to find out that the flimsy steel cart held the car up too! :)

[eschoendorff]

I dropped a ramp on my HF tool cart, makes it look nice and used with the buckle in it. I was surprised to find out that the flimsy steel cart held the car up too! :)

You guys have an HF in London????? :wtf:

[Moose-LandTran]

You guys have an HF in London????? :wtf:

No, but it's the same cart. :)

[billymade]

Did you get it from Machine Mart? :)

[Moose-LandTran]

Did you get it from Machine Mart? :)

Nope, bought it from Just Off Base and it was shipped directly from Sealey. (who sell it rebranded.) :)

[Lookin4'67Galaxieconv]

Here's my welding cart. Got if off of craigslist for $20 believe it or not!

http://i336.photobucket.com/albums/n345/comet_man_1965/Welding_cart.jpg

http://i336.photobucket.com/albums/n345/comet_man_1965/Welding_cart_1.jpg

I bought a Harbor Freight cart when I first got my welder back in the '90s. Very cheap. I ended up welding it together b/c I didn't trust the crappy screws they included. Then I put a reinforcement piece of metal under where the tank sits along with a 3rd wheel b/c it was so flimsy. (I have the tall tank, about 4 ft high) It worked okay, but I was always leery of it and always looking for something better.

I found this one a couple years back. It's pretty sturdy, like brand new and works great.

And for $20, I would've bought ten of these if he had had them! :beer:

[KraftwerkMk1Jetta]

nice cart!

Today I started working on something to mount my tank on the back of my cart. I decided to use this old aluminum O2 tank my father had, cut the lower section off of it, and mount it on the back of the cart. My welding gas tank is smaller, so it will just slide into the aluminum one. I'll take some progress pics tomorrow.

[KraftwerkMk1Jetta]

Here are some pics of the cart and what I've been doing to it. I attached this platform and struts/bracing to secure my MIG gas cylinder to. I'm happy it turned out pretty good. I mocked it up and welded it today. Tomorrow I will remove it and paint it.

http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b245/sloppy-ollies/cart4.jpg
http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b245/sloppy-ollies/cart3.jpg

[fourfeathers]

That Lyon cart looks a LOT like an OLD Snappy cart from the 40's. Caster mounts are diff. though.

[davestlouis]

I got razzed mercilessly for my thread about accidentally dropping and scuffing a new ratchet, and we have this thread, where posters are talking about antiquing and "distressing" a perfectly good tool cart...good grief, what's this world coming to? Just kidding, of course.

[Kevin54]

http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b245/sloppy-ollies/cart2.jpg

I think it looks good the way it is. If you try to "distress" it, it will look like something that was old, repainted, and then scratched up. Most won't even notice that you painted over dents and it looks better now than before you painted it. I'd say use it as is and in a couple of months no one will notice it at all.

[Lookin4'67Galaxieconv]

I think it looks good the way it is. If you try to "distress" it, it will look like something that was old, repainted, and then scratched up. Most won't even notice that you painted over dents and it looks better now than before you painted it. I'd say use it as is and in a couple of months no one will notice it at all.

Agreed! :pimpflash

[KraftwerkMk1Jetta]

You're right. The last few days I've decided the same thing. I'll just let it get a natural "patina" over the course of time. I like the way it looks now. I had fun fixing it up, and even more fun using my new welder to make the extension for the gas cylinder. Can't wait to start using that instead of flux core :beer:

[KraftwerkMk1Jetta]

Finished up the cart today.

http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b245/sloppy-ollies/Tools/cart6.jpg
http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b245/sloppy-ollies/Tools/cart5.jpg
I painted the rear cylinder support and tray the same color gray so it almost looks like it originally came that way. The cylinder holder was painted satin black and it's bolted down. The gas cylinder fits into it perfectly, and everything is very strong and secure.

I also lined the top with a rubber matt I bought at Tractor Supply and cut to fit. I had enough left over to line the drawer as well.
http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b245/sloppy-ollies/Tools/cart7.jpg
Overall I'm psyched on it, its got old school build quality. I'm probably going to add something to keep the welding ground cable and power cables wound up and neat.

[Lookin4'67Galaxieconv]

Overall I'm psyched on it, its got old school build quality. I'm probably going to add something to keep the welding ground cable and power cables wound up and neat.

Looks great! Ready to serve you for another fifty years! :beer: