[Demon Dog]

I found three different teacup and saucer settings today at the Salvation Army store. Two of the sets are porcelain china, and one is probably a thin white stoneware that says its microwave oven safe. Gromit05 wanted some for her gypsy fortune telling and seance room this year. The teacups are a nice mix of various patterns, but I'd really like to make them look more aged. One look I remember seeing before on really old teacups was a crackled effect, similar to a very fine crackle paint finish. I don't want to paint over these cups, but any ideas for how to make them look more aged?

 

[Scry]

Given how much tea itself stains the cups... perhaps you could make some VERY VERY strong black tea and leave it for a few days, throw the liquid down the sink and start again (for hygeine reasons of course)

 

[Baron Samedi]

DD, The Crackling effect you refer to is caused by the glaze that is put on to the china before it is fired. over time this can craze and give the finish you describe.
I really don't know how one would replicate this effect without using a crackle effect paint or varnish of some description.

 

[Demon Dog]

Thanks Scry and Baron. Just mention tea, and the good people from the UK come forth!

I did a little searching for what not to do to china, which is, of course, exactly what I'm going to do to it. I've got one extra saucer and will give it a going over with steel wool and possible a few quick passes with a fine grit sand paper to scratch the glaze. Then I'll dip it in boiling water for a couple minutes, pull it out to let it cool, then repeat this a few times. I might also try it in the microwave oven or conventional oven a bit. Fortunately the cups and saucers were only half a US dollar each, so even if this destroys a setting, its easy to replace.

Regardless of how this turns out, I'll definitely try Scry's suggestion about staining the cups with tea or some dark liquid.

 

[Scry]

Thanks Scry and Baron. Just mention tea, and the good people from the UK come forth!

I did a little searching for what not to do to china, which is, of course, exactly what I'm going to do to it. I've got one extra saucer and will give it a going over with steel wool and possible a few quick passes with a fine grit sand paper to scratch the glaze. Then I'll dip it in boiling water for a couple minutes, pull it out to let it cool, then repeat this a few times. I might also try it in the microwave oven or conventional oven a bit. Fortunately the cups and saucers were only half a US dollar each, so even if this destroys a setting, its easy to replace.

Regardless of how this turns out, I'll definitely try Scry's suggestion about staining the cups with tea or some dark liquid.

haha, tis true. Mention tea and we brits shall appear!!!
You could use Brown Acrylic (craft paint) - as its water soluble, make it very very watery and it'll create a stain... you could peel parts of it away to make it look all flaky too....


best of luck!

 

[Front Yard Fright]

You could also just use wood stain, it will be tacky for a couple days, but after it dries it'll have the look you want.

Good luck!
.

 

[Rikki]

I need to do this as well so I'll be looking forward to seeing your results! Good luck!

 

[Demon Dog]

Thanks for the ideas Scry and FYF. I'll probably try the acrylic as I have some of that on hand, plus it should dry quicker (and smell less).

 

[Demon Dog]

Sure thing, Rikki. I'll take some before and after photos. At the very least, you can see what not to try, lol.

I think you're the person my wife bought her crystal box from that she's also going to use in her fortune telling room. That's a neat prop. I can't wait to see the kids faces when it answers their questions.

 

[Rikki]

Great!
Yes, it was me. I hope it works out well for your party!

 

[Front Yard Fright]

Here are some examples of how stain can make stuff look nasty... lol







Pretty much everything in our kitchen was covered in stain... including the walls!

Can't wait to see how your teacups come out!
.

 

[Demon Dog]

Wow, that is nasty, FRF! And for simulating blood, the red stain's tranluscence is perfect.

Started messing with a china saucer this morning befoire going to work. Steel wool doesn't seem to phase it noticeably, so switched to 120 grit sandpaper which definitely scratched the glaze. The porcelain torture will continue tonight.

 

[Demon Dog]

tea cup torture

Okay, the tea cups have been thoroughly tortured...BRU, HA, HA, HAAA!! I used both 120 grit and 80 grit sandpaper in both a radial motion from the saucer center and in a circular motion about the center. Same type of abuse for the tea cups. The glaze is tough; but the metal trim is fairly easy to wear down, which I did non uniformly. Some areas of the saucer and cup seem easier to scratch than others, and you get a feel for it after doing one setting. I used the light reflected off the dishes to check the amount of scratching being done. The porcelain and the stoneware were about the same level of difficulty. After getting some good scratches for the paint to adhere to, I rubbed nutmeg brown acrylic paint into the inside of the cup with a paper towel to simulate tea stains. I especially liked how that came out. I then used a little nutmeg but more of a medium gray acrylic on the outside of the cup plus the saucer. I plan on spraying them next with clear gloss sealer to lock in the coloring. My album has a photo of one tea cup & saucer as purchased, and a couple shots of the three settings "aged". The main thing is Gromit05 says she's happy with the outcome.

I also tried to do a controlled chipping of the extra porcelain saucer I had. But even using a nail and supporting block of wood for the saucer, plus working on an extreme edge of the dish, resulted in more of a chop than a chip. I opted to pass on that feature for the keepers.

Thanks again for the suggestions.

 

[Scry]

sounds like it turned out well. would love to see some pics!

 

[Rikki]

Looks like that worked well for you. Thanks for letting us know the results.
I'm thinking about just drinking coffee out of mine all morning and then not washing it! No really, I am thinking about sanding them down like you did but then putting coffee in the cup and letting it soak in. Maybe some drips down the side (I may need to use the paint for that) and dripped onto the saucer.

 

[Demon Dog]

sounds like it turned out well. would love to see some pics!

Hey Scry. Just click on my user ID, select View Public Profile from the drop down menu, then click open my album. I''ve got one shot of a cup and saucer as purchased, and a couple shots of aged ones. Sorry, I'm not the forum photo person in the household. But let me know if you have trouble seeing them and I'll see what else I can do (or actually ask my wife to do).

 

[Demon Dog]

Looks like that worked well for you. Thanks for letting us know the results.
I'm thinking about just drinking coffee out of mine all morning and then not washing it!

Ha! Sounds like a great way to avoid washing at least some dishes.

 

[Scry]

here are demon Dogs pics of the cups:

before: Halloween Forum - Demon Dog's Album: Perish Hall Cemetery - Picture
after: Halloween Forum - Demon Dog's Album: Perish Hall Cemetery - Picture

looking good, I bet the inside looks as good as the outside!!

 

[Demon Dog]

Thanks Scry. Here's some more photos, including the insides. For some reason I had a dickens of a time getting shots that were in focus (and I wasn't even photographing after happy hour ). These better show the final results.

On one cup I let a watered down paint simply dry up.

A pocelain cup & saucer, a little blurry but you can get the gist of how it looks.

The stoneware cup (and actually in focus!).