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Painted country furniture – How to tell the difference between reproductions and antiques
Paint cracks as the wood expands and contracts and dirt fills into the tiny cracks. On reproductions, this look is achieved by painting fine dark lines to imitate dirt.
Is the paint old? Old paint is very hard and breaks off into irregular pieces because it is very brittle. If you try to scrape it off with a knife, it'll come off in jagged pieces. New paint is soft. When scraped with a knife, it will come off in curls. New furniture is painted with water based acrylics that were invented in the 1940s. Old furniture would be painted with milk or oil based paints.
Natural wear. Do the signs of wear make sense? A painted antique chair will show increased signs of wear at the end of the arms where the hands would naturally rest and rub off the paint more than underneath the arm
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