Toolbox Refinishing - The "Barn Find" Look

[Farmer J.]

While this is not a “barn find” duplicated tool box, I did create this “barn find” barn door last week! Using similar aging techniques. Wood is new but screws used are truly old

That's nice! What a lovely door, it would be a pleasure to see it every time.
I guess that's hung on a wide doorway, wide enough for a cow, or to walk and carry 2 full buckets through there!

 

[Private Lugnutz]

Looks great, Smoke!

 

[Smokeshow69]

That's nice! What a lovely door, it would be a pleasure to see it every time.

I guess that's hung on a wide doorway, wide enough for a cow, or to walk and carry 2 full buckets through there!

Yes, we have wide cows here[emoji23] door is nearly 54” wide to cover the trim around the opening when shut. My wife found an actual old door local but it was almost 10’ tall and I couldn’t figure out a way to cut that door down and still have it look right, dimensionally. I decided to build a scaled down replica even though I really like to have the real thing. Most of the old items in our house are truly old. Picture of the real, old inspiration



Looking to buy a craftsman heritage era 10 drawer top chest

 

[Smokeshow69]

Looks great, Smoke!

Thanks lugz! I will be using your technique on creating a worn label for a plomb made 1/4 drive box for my speed master set. I need to find a logo and the correct color to paint the clamshell!


Looking to buy a craftsman heritage era 10 drawer top chest

 

[Jayman17]

Lugz and Smoke, wow guys great jobs on your latest projects! Amazing how well that label turned out. Excellent scaling down of that large barn door too.

Jay

 

[Farmer J.]

Yes, we have wide cows here[emoji23] door is nearly 54” wide to cover the trim around the opening when shut. My wife found an actual old door local but it was almost 10’ tall and I couldn’t figure out a way to cut that door down and still have it look right, dimensionally. I decided to build a scaled down replica even though I really like to have the real thing. Most of the old items in our house are truly old. Picture of the real, old inspiration

That's a nice old one, but the new replica looks just right and as you say it's in scale. We love the detail how you have shaved back some of the edges between the knots. Lots of old woodwork around a farm looks like that where the livestock have been chewing at it!

 

[Smokeshow69]

That's a nice old one, but the new replica looks just right and as you say it's in scale. We love the detail how you have shaved back some of the edges between the knots. Lots of old woodwork around a farm looks like that where the livestock have been chewing at it!

I have seen a bit of cribbing but didn’t replicate it on this door. I think my wife would have thought that would have been a bit too authentic or overboard [emoji23] I tried to make it realistic while still showing its age well


Looking to buy a craftsman heritage era 10 drawer top chest

 

[HMcM]

Here's my story. I have been collecting vintage mechanic tools for about a year and a half, mostly from estate sales. I saw this this tool cabinet on a for-sale-ap. it looked old, and it was only $30. I need a place to store my collection so I picked it up. It's Snap On. The top box had a horrible red spray paint job, all over the hardware with runs. The bottom cabinet looked like it had been painted with house paint. But, the drawer fronts had the original paint - crinkle drab forest green. In an effort to date it, I could not find any Snap On box in anything but red. Then I googled WWII Snap on tool box, and there it was. It is a WWII box, and drawers have the original paint. Now, I'm not a restorer, but my goal was to make it clean and functional, and preserve the original paint on the drawer fronts. I stripped off the top and lower box. I chose to pick a complementary color that I like, rather than try to match the drab forest green on the drawers. Just getting close would probably clash & look pretty amateur - well, more so than the Burgundy wine color. I don't have the locking cover panel that goes over the upper drawers. I suppose the original wheels rotted off, so some old timer welded together an angle iron frame with wheels for the box to sit on. I kept that.

 

[Smokeshow69]

Here's my story. I have been collecting vintage mechanic tools for about a year and a half, mostly from estate sales. I saw this this tool cabinet on a for-sale-ap. it looked old, and it was only $30. I need a place to store my collection so I picked it up. It's Snap On. The top box had a horrible red spray paint job, all over the hardware with runs. The bottom cabinet looked like it had been painted with house paint. But, the drawer fronts had the original paint - crinkle drab forest green. In an effort to date it, I could not find any Snap On box in anything but red. Then I googled WWII Snap on tool box, and there it was. It is a WWII box, and drawers have the original paint. Now, I'm not a restorer, but my goal was to make it clean and functional, and preserve the original paint on the drawer fronts. I stripped off the top and lower box. I chose to pick a complementary color that I like, rather than try to match the drab forest green on the drawers. Just getting close would probably clash & look pretty amateur - well, more so than the Burgundy wine color. I don't have the locking cover panel that goes over the upper drawers. I suppose the original wheels rotted off, so some old timer welded together an angle iron frame with wheels for the box to sit on. I kept that.

I like it! You did a good job! Plus you got a great deal... you should post this on the vintage tool box thread!


Looking for a craftsman heritage era 10 drawer top chest

 

[gpw_42]

MATERIALS

- Rustoleum Painter's Touch 2X Ultra Cover 'Gray' Primer 249088

Lugz,

Was there any particular thought process behind selecting this primer? I'm about to do a 41-B-1840 and wondering if I can use "primer" or is it worth seeking out this particular one.

Thanks!

 

[Private Lugnutz]

Not particularly, no. Good luck!

 

[Private Lugnutz]

If you're a regular on the general 'Toolboxes' thread or the 'Snap-on' thread here on the vintage board, you know I found a late 1930's K-21 MechaniKit a couple weeks ago. It was one of those dilemma boxes. Way too much original paint for me, in good conscience, to strip and refinish. But way too many spots of ugly cancerous rust, surface rust, and also just way too many places of plain bare steel for me, in good conscience, to ignore.

So I decided to do a “prestorvation” (to coin a portmanteau) on it. The objective of the “prestorved” approach is to preserve the original paint and patina but restore the rest of the box, to protect it, but in a way that is consistent with the original, aged condition. The goal being to make it look like I had found a well-used, worn, but well-maintained box that has grown old very gracefully.

The challenge in this kind of approach is blending the original finish and patina with the re-finished areas. I had to hit the rust pretty hard with a sanding block and, in the worst cases, a wire wheel. I expected the color to be a problem for touching those areas up, and I was right. I couldn't match if with a hardware store rattle can. None of the Krylon or Rustoleum green colors I found were dark enough. This is a very deep, dark green.

So I made a stain with Rustoleum Dark Hunter Green, Rustoleum Black, and some paint thinner. I sopped that up with a rag and wiped it on. After 24 hours I did it again. After another 24 hours, I dabbed it on a little thicker over some of the places where grinding the crusty rusty areas had left a stain in the steel.

Then I rubbed it down with #0000 steel wool.

Then I coated it with Clear Gloss Enamel.

Then I rubbed that down with #0000 steel wool to take a little of the sheen down.

Lastly, I waxed it and rubbed that down with a rag.

I am pretty pleased with the results.

Enough talk. Here are some BEFORE photos...

 

[Private Lugnutz]

An here are some AFTER photos.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

I re-wrapped the handle with a piece of leather I scavenged from an old leather sofa seat cushion covering. (I have bigger plans for the other two cushion covers, but I can get at least another dozen handles out of the one I already cut into.) I got my hands a little oily and grimey and gripped that a few times to age it.

The piece de resistance was the oval decal. As some of you know, I have made my own in the past, by printing the image of a well-preserved decal on a high-quality printer, distressing it to age it, gluing it on the box, and clear glossing over it. And I had a very nice image from OTG. But I ultimately decided to buy a vinyl reproduction from jimenginedecals on eBay. I distressed that to age it before I applied it. Then I dirtied that up a little, hit it with some gloss, took the sheen down with #0000 steel wool, and waxed it like the rest of the box.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

Two more BEFORE and AFTER shots mimicking the 1939 catalog excerpt...

 

[misterbill]

Has Mrs. 'nutz noticed the missing cushion yet? Great job as usual!

 

[Private Lugnutz]

Great job as usual!

Thank you, sir!

Has Mrs. 'nutz noticed the missing cushion yet?

Nah. Lucky for me, she generally won't go in the garage or the basement. It was from a sofa that has been long discarded, as far as she knows or cares. It was a wooden faux Vic with a gazillions hobnails holding the leather on the frame, and it had gotten used pretty hard, the hobnails were popping, the leather was ripping on the arms, etc. She wanted it out on the curb for bulk pickup, but I "saved" it (a trait I inherited from my pop) without really having any reasons why in mind. I've had some requests for handles, so I may get some cash out of it as a cottage 'vintage leather handle restoration' industry. I am really excited about my bigger plans for the leather. Which is a secret, for now.

 

[Farmer J.]

Nice job on the box Lugz! Thanks for posting the process and pics, I was actually wondering today how you were getting on with it and had a look back at the pics from a couple of weeks ago. Love how the 'reproduction patina' has worked out on the new decal.

A couple of months ago put an old way past repair leather sofa on my bonfire pile (ready for November 5th) and now I will have to go and salvage a load of the leather from it in case there is a use for it, it's the same colour as the one you used for your handle.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

Thanks, J!

I loaded it up with my Snappy odds and ends this evening.

 

[JoCoSawdust]

Hoot Mon!! That looks great Lugz. Fantastic job!

 

[Private Lugnutz]

Thanks, JoCo!

 

[Smokeshow69]

Hoot Mon!! That looks great Lugz. Fantastic job!

I see what you did there[emoji23] I do agree lugz did a fantastic job!


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[Private Lugnutz]

I see what you did there[emoji23]

You mean the 1949-era Craftsman Scottish brogue?!

 

[Smokeshow69]

You mean the 1949-era Craftsman Scottish brogue?!

Yes from our discussion on the craftsman thread about that phrase [emoji23]


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[JoCoSawdust]

I've committed myself to using that term at least once a day. I get some strange looks from convienence store clerks.

 

[Smokeshow69]

I've committed myself to using that term at least once a day. I get some strange looks from convienence store clerks.

How is the resolution going so far ?[emoji23]


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[Smokeshow69]

Lugz I wanted to post my plomb tool tote here and get your opinion on aging it... I painted it with wrinkle finish paint but if course the best wrinkle finish paint is on the inside of the tote not on the outside [emoji849]... I then distressed the carry handle down to metal, distressed the edges and the socket tray. I also put some dings in the paint on the edges and removed the paint from the corners of the carry handles to expose the old brazing repairs. I am trying to figure out anything else I could do to make it more realistic? I even put sockets in the end of my impact and spun them in the socket tray to give it a worn appearance of sockets being carried around in it over the years. The bare metal will age over time I hope to look more realistic







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[Smokeshow69]

WWII Toolbox Refinishing - The "Barn Find" Look





This is what this poor tote looked like before I got my hands on it. I certainly am not going for this much”patina” again [emoji23]




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[Private Lugnutz]

I think it looks terrific, Smoke. Very convincing. Like a tote tray that has been used but very well-maintained.

The one thing you could do, but I hate to even mention it, just in case you don't like the results, which I don't want to be responsible for, is to variegate the finish.

Right now it's very uniform. Yes, there are worn areas, where the steel or the brazing is showing through, but the battleship grey is the same hue and tone everywhere across the box, uniformly. The corners, the sides, the handles etc. Most boxes don't age that way. From handling and the environment they turn different shades of their original color over time, and often have other splotches and such on them. Especially handles and corners. See post #2, 3, 20, 27, and 53.

To achieve that look, I stain it. The stain is usually the first color with a little black added to it to make it slightly darker. And/or the same color but a different shade (oregano vs olive, etc). In this case, maybe a slate blue vs battleship grey. You need very little paint. Spray color 1 in the bottom of a container. Spray a little black into the same container. Same for a different color. Add paint thinner. Maybe 1 part paint, 2 two parts thinner. It is a stain. Picture a wood stain. It has to be very thin.

Ball up the corner of a shop rag or a t-shirt etc, dob that quickly into the stain, soaking it up into the balled-up rag. You don't want it to be dripping wet.

Then lightly sort of dab or press and swirl or stroke that in places you want to affect on the tote in haphazard patterns. The thinner will disturb the battleship grey coat and add the stain at the same time, drying almost instantaneously, in the shape and pattern that you applied the rag.

Experiment on the bottom until you get the look you want.

I have even gotten the stain on my hands and just handled the box here and there as a user normally would.

Then I either poly low gloss the whole thing and take down the shine with steel wool a little, or just rub paste wax over the whole thing.

But again, your box looks great. And these faux-antiquey house painter's tricks aren't for everyone, and some may even think it a little much, a little crazy, and I recognize that.

 

[Smokeshow69]

I think it looks terrific, Smoke. Very convincing. Like a tote tray that has been used but very well-maintained.

The one thing you could do, but I hate to even mention it, just in case you don't like the results, which I don't want to be responsible for, is to variegate the finish.

Right now it's very uniform. Yes, there are worn areas, where the steel or the brazing is showing through, but the battleship grey is the same hue and tone everywhere across the box, uniformly. The corners, the sides, the handles etc. Most boxes don't age that way. From handling and the environment they turn different shades of their original color over time, and often have other splotches and such on them. Especially handles and corners. See post #2, 3, 20, 27, and 53.

To achieve that look, I stain it. The stain is usually the first color with a little black added to it to make it slightly darker. And/or the same color but a different shade (oregano vs olive, etc). In this case, maybe a slate blue vs battleship grey. You need very little paint. Spray color 1 in the bottom of a container. Spray a little black into the same container. Same for a different color. Add paint thinner. Maybe 1 part paint, 2 two parts thinner. It is a stain. Picture a wood stain. It has to be very thin.

Ball up the corner of a shop rag or a t-shirt etc, dob that quickly into the stain, soaking it up into the balled-up rag. You don't want it to be dripping wet.

Then lightly sort of dab or press and swirl or stroke that in places you want to affect on the tote in haphazard patterns. The thinner will disturb the battleship grey coat and add the stain at the same time, drying almost instantaneously, in the shape and pattern that you applied the rag.

Experiment on the bottom until you get the look you want.

I have even gotten the stain on my hands and just handled the box here and there as a user normally would.

Then I either poly low gloss the whole thing and take down the shine with steel wool a little, or just rub paste wax over the whole thing.

But again, your box looks great. And these faux-antiquey house painter's tricks aren't for everyone, and some may even think it a little much, a little crazy, and I recognize that.

I do agree I think I need to do the stain to fix the uniform appearance of the tote. I think that will send it over the top! I didn’t really beat up the inside of the tote to much because I will use it so it will actually get some use and will age a bit itself. I am also going to make a wood insert to put inside of it to protect the bottom as it is a bit thin for the capacity of tools this can hold.


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[Kent_B]

Hi, Lugz:
I think I found a box today on a yard sale that looks a whole lot like the Hamilton on page 1 of this thread. Lots of green paint left. I'll post pics tomorrow but wonder if you'd like to see them in this thread or should I start a new thread?

 

[Private Lugnutz]

The more the merrier, Kent! All of them have the "HAM. MET. PRODS." embossing. Some, probably late war, have the FSN ("41-B-1840") embossed as well.

 

[Shiftless]

I just discovered this thread and I’m subscribing to stay up with all of the good tips. Thanks Lugz!

 

[Smokeshow69]

Lugz, I made a stain like you said. I got some turpentine, a little bit of left over flat black that I had and used a foam paint application pad to apply and then a rag to dab/ wipe. I even applied a darker stain in the socket tray and in the corners like you find on old boxes even after they are degreased. You still see the darker spots from oil. I darkened up the handle as well. I will do the black shoe polish trick maybe in a year once the exposed metal has time to oxidize a bit before I deal it. I also used some 90 year old wood from my old house for a liner in the bottom to support the weight







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[Smokeshow69]

WWII Toolbox Refinishing - The "Barn Find" Look

More tote pictures . I had to fill it with some plomb tools for a vanity shot [emoji3]








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[Private Lugnutz]

Dude. Now THAT is a "Barn Find" quality prestorvation! I defy anyone who hasn't seen this thread to detect that that tote not an old and original survivor! It's really neat to see someone give my techniques a whirl. VERY WELL DONE! And it's fun, right?

 

[Smokeshow69]

WWII Toolbox Refinishing - The "Barn Find" Look

Dude. Now THAT is a "Barn Find" quality prestorvation! I defy anyone who hasn't seen this thread to detect that that tote not an old and original survivor! It's really neat to see someone give my techniques a whirl. VERY WELL DONE! And it's fun, right?

It actually was really fun! I can really nerd out on the details of accuracy and period correctness so I am definitely going to be buying more other boxes that most would overlook. I am actually so nerdy I used a hand saw to cut the wood[emoji3] Thanks for the compliment! I had a good mentor [emoji41]


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[Kent_B]

Lugz:
here's the box I spoke of yesterday. I'm unable to find any identifying marks near the handles. I included a couple "treasures" I found inside, Herbrand 3/8" sliding tee and an as-yet unidentified pair of side cutters.

For $2 I won't complain.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

Lugz:
here's the box I spoke of yesterday. I'm unable to find any identifying marks near the handles.

That's a stumper. It's definitely not a Union, and it's not a Hamilton or E.J. McAleer, either, which are the three verified, well-known and well-characterized 41-B-1840 mfgrs. It has the same tray supports as a Hamilton and McAleer, but the corner feet are wrong, the ends of the tray handle are wrong (those have an arrow shape), and it has way too many hinge elements.

 

[Kent_B]

Thank you for the feedback. I guess it remains a mystery, Guess I'll clean it up, treat it with some BLO and find a use for it.