I am having to build my wife a Texas Flag out of old barn wood. How do I get the paint to look old? lightly sand it? Also, what kind of paint do I use?

Use old privacy fence wood already weathered. you can use imagination on paint? Scuff,use waterbase stain,sanding,

Poorboy,

Since you alread have the old barnwood, it is probably pretty pourous. With your paint, if you don't already have it, get mixed a tad lighter than you would think the colors would actually be. Apply it very conservatively and set it in the sun to dry for a day. Take a look at it and see what you think. If the wood is pourous it should be a very light color with some "faded" looking spots.

I made my wife a "old" sign out of old wood. It took me two or three tries, but I finally got the look right. It's just a little trial and error. Try the painting on a scrap piece first and see how it comes out. I bet you'll get it perfect after a try or two.

Post a pic when you are done with it.

just paint it with the regular red white and blue paint and then rub a thinned down black paint over it . rub off to get desired effect . this is a pretty simple task . on the white dont rub as much on . . ps... use a wet rag to do the rubbing off ..as far as the paint use a latex satin and let dry over night before putting the black on

Another option is the wet a tea bag and dab it on there. Gives it a very authentic look.

hey jay ...on strong colors like red and blue the tea technique wont show up .

oh if that dont look like you need .thin down some med gray paint and do a final wash with it using a dry brush

Just get some old fence pickets, make the flag size you want and after you build it take it to the car wash (unless you have a pressure washer)wash it off and let dry good then shoot it with a coat of primer and paint it how ever you want.For the rustic look after you paint it just take sandpaper and rub it where you want and continue till you like it.

Use a small piece of chain and slap it a few times to give it a more distresed look.

thinout your paints before you start, and use thin layers sanded in between, then use the black paint methos Jesse sadi above. i have used this alot and I sell alot of crafts...goota pay for bait somehow...lol...I seal everything with a satin laquer also , looks more "country" than shiny, but protects and makes it alot easier to dust and so forth.

I could put you in contact with my first wife. Something in her makeup bag seems to have that effect. At least it did for her.

You may try using your paint like a stain. Use water based paint, and maybe 1 part paint to 3 parts water. The color will soak into the wood, but the color of the wood will still be visible.

This will only work using whole slats though. It will bleed out around the edges if you are trying to paint the same piece of wood multiple colors.

so do you have any pictures of the results on your flag >???