Antiquing a Mantle

I finally got around to antiquing our fireplace mantle.  I wasn't crazy about the existing one and Dan wants to eventually replace this one with a walnut wood piece, but in the meantime I could'nt stand looking at this one. 
So here we go...another quick project!

This is my BEFORE of the oak stained mantle.

I started by lightly sanding, wiping clean, then rubbing some dark stain in certain random areas

I got some crackle medium (shown here-it's clear). I brushed this over the majority of the mantle but

in deliberate areas. I let it dry overnight.

Next I brushed on the satin paint that I bought in a creamy white color. I covered

the entire mantle with this. When using crackle you need to make steady and long brushstrokes and not repeat over the painted areas. If you do, you will ruin the crackling process. You will see the crackle begin immediately taking place.

I allowed it to dry then put another coat of paint on it.  Next I rubbed some dark brown gel stain in random areas.  Allow to dry completely before sanding down corners, long lengths and crevices to give it that aged appearance. 

I also took a metal handheld meat tenderizer and dinged it up in various places for an aged affect.

Here's what it looks like.

After it was all completely dry, I covered it all with a polyurethane coating to seal it and give it a slight gloss.

These are the things I used:

Valspar Interior Satin in Divine Cream

FolkArt Crackle Medium #695

Minwax Gel Stain in Ebony & Walnut

Minwax Polyurethane Finish

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You will also need:

Foam brush (for polyurethane)

Disposable gloves for applying stains and poly

Regular Paint Brush

Sanding block or paper

Stain cloth or old rag (to apply stains)

Drop cloth or old newspaper to tape off area

                      

BEFORE

                  

AFTER

I'm a whole lot happier with this look and I will sleep better tonight...zzzz!