Weather-It that MicroMark sells works very well but it provides a more uniform gray color than will bug juice. Bug juice is actually a very old "recipe" for ebonizing wood and it will affect different woods in different fashion depending on the tannins in the wood.

Likewise, because tannins aren't distributed equally throughout wood, it provides a varied weathering pattern that's very realistic.

If you want to try something 'neat', take some oak and stick it in your bug juice (or put some bug juice on it). Do this several times and you should end up with a very rich, dark brown, almost black. That was the original use for "bug juice". To get it to go completely black you can add a tannic acid solution to the mix.

Larry Marshall

To age hardware "Blacken it" works great (from Micro Mark, train shops, etc) As I remember it was necessary to steel wool the coatings from the brass hinges before blackening. Then, just put some of the liquid in a bottle cap or small dish and drop in the hinges. The longer you leave it in the solution the darker it gets. When totally dry, you can gently steel wool again for highlights.

Bernice Rosenberg

Pat and Noel originated the Bug juice. Anything you use besides the original will not match what is already aged, and you will be highly disappointed. I have several of their structures on my picture trail if you want to take a look. I keep bottles of their bug juice on hand at all times. It is made from vinegar, and rusted nails, and gives you a beautiful weathered grey effect.

You can contact them at:
http://www.thomasopenhouse.com/. They are wonderful people to deal with.Carol Wagner

Carol Wagner

http://www.picturetrail.com/bobncar

If you can't find Bug Juice, model railroad stores (and Micro Mark I believe) carry "weather it" or, you can roll your own - black shoe dye or India ink HIGHLY diluted with isopropyl or denatured alcohol or methyl Hydrate in Canada. If you want to get a variety of shades, you can add a bit of brown shoe dye.

An old standby is to put some steel wool in vinegar and let that stand for several days and use the resulting "juice".

An alternate method is to use grey chalks available from art supply stores - scrape some dusty shavings onto the wood and brush/rub to apply - big advantage - no warping or fumes.

Peter Tucker

Weathering Brass: If you want your brass green, I can attest from first hand experience working on a "tall ship" with WAY too much brass, salt water does a fine job of turning it green (rinse the brine off though before it dries or you will have salt spots that are more like not so mini salt candle drippings). Hand oil makes it tarnish quickly (like for example 50 people up and down the stairs holding the rail for 2 hours). Just make sure your brass isn't coated with the anti tarnish stuff as that makes a mess once it starts to wear away.

Carolyn

Weathering Brass: You can use Patina-It Weathering Compound made by A-West, Box 1144, Woodstock, GA 30188 to weather a brass wind vane. This makes the brass turn blue like it would after years outside. Alan Hamer, who uses this material, actually leaves the vanes outside in the weather for a couple of weeks after applying the Patina-It.

Pam & Pete Boorum

Aging Floors: For aging the floor, if it is wood, try a few coats of tea. Worked well for me.

Dr. Bob

Aging Floors: I also wanted an aged look to the kitchen floor in my farmhouse. I used brown wax shoe polish on the floor and then wiped it off. Gave it a softer look than stark white. Wax buildup?

Shirley in Kansas

Old Painted Sign on Building: Your question prompted me to go looking through my binders for a series that Pat Thomas did for Nutshell news. Noel and Pat are known for their incredibly realistic buildings including dry rot, peeling paint, worn stairs, and they did a few old buildings with signs on them. The way that Pat described her 'worn' signs was something like this. After making sure the walls were well aged, Noel would trace the sign he wanted onto the building, very carefully. Then they would use water color washes until they liked the looks of the sign, and then, the hardest part, they had to attack the sign with an emery board and finger nails, to wear parts of it away. They finished the whole wall with a 'dirty water' mix...or, Bug Juice, which I believe they still sell. (But, I can't find a site for it! I know it's usually sold in the ads in the back of DHM.) Here is one site which shows some of their incredible aging. Porttownsend.html

Kaye in LA

Aging metals; Try putting the metal in a zip lock bag with some household ammonia. Try not to immerse the metal in the liquid ammonia. It's the fumes that do the "dirty" work. I place a small glass (shot glass) in the zip lock and fill that with the ammonia and just put the metal to be tarnished, etc., in the bag with the contained ammonia.

DrBob....Delray Beach, FL