doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com How do I antique a reproduction trade label.

I just bought an English double rifle that had an incorrect label in the lid of the case. I purchased the correct label reproduction from Peter Dyson. How can I antique the label to age it to match the case? Thanks guys!

Is it a heavy paper label or a cloth one? I antiqued a label on a reproduction Shaker Seed box I made using nothing more than brown shoe polish and buffing it with a cloth. Didn't use a lot, but the buffing helped to disperse it and blend it in to look old.

Pam cooking spray. Pam and Bake it. No joke.

I saw a tv documentary on forged art. The forger showed how he aged paper. He lightly sprinkled the paper with slightly damp used coffee grounds and bake it in an oven. The coffee grounds create foxing (light brown spots) and the baking yellowed the paper. I don't know what temperature or how long. I would experiment with regular paper first. Hope this helps.

take a teabag used just from the pot the best...and paint it over the front and back of the paper all over. try not to stripe it....not too wait as to allow the paper to start rolling off...leave to dry...done

T

Gary,now that you know how,why bother? You'll always know it's a poor ruse.

I too have heard of the cold tea method. Also old lables also have a bit of the smell and stain of gun oil about them. The original Young's 303 oil; best perfume known to man! Lagopus.....

A tried method to create a �faked� label is the following:

1/ make sure, your wife/girl friend/�kitchen�s admin� is out for at least two hours

2/ turn on the oven and pre-heat it at app. 400 �F.

3/ place in the to be aged label for 30 to 45 minutes.

4/ Open all available windows.

5/ voil�!

Usage of some drips of oil can help. But be careful with the amount of oil.

Explanation to #1 and #4: women will not like the resulting smell ! Definitely not! To avoid discussions�..

Anyway: I tried the tea trick � result doesn�t satisfy me. The oven method will lead to uniform aging and a much better result. I�d place some samples in the oven and take out the first item after 30, the next after 35 minutes, and so on. I�d scan the label you have and would try it with some samples first to check for the best time in the oven, before I�d place the good one in.

Regards

Martin

I have done this several times using this method:
First, try lightly sanding off a corner or two and some bits around the edges. Perfectly crisp edges are a dead give away.
Next soak the label in strongly brewed tea (hot or cold) until the label takes on the amount of staining you wish.
When the label is damp but not wet, take some instant coffee, crumble it in your fingers above the label. This will easily produce the foxing as mentioned above. After it dries, iron the label flat and sprinkle a few drops of oil on it to add authenticity. Several subtle effects achieve a much better finished product. No need to stink up the house!

Simple: live a long time!