Okay, so I heard about this fella, Paulo da Silva. Not sure where, maybe scrolling online late one night, you know how it is.
Getting Started with the Idea
Anyway, saw some stuff attributed to him. Looked simple, kinda rustic. Liked the look of it. It was some kind of wood finishing technique, I think. Made cheap wood look kinda old and weathered, but nice, you know? Not like fake plastic old, but proper used old. So, I thought, why not give it a shot? Had an old pine shelf lying around, perfect guinea pig.
First thing, I needed to figure out what he actually did. There wasn’t a clear guide, just pictures and mentions. So, it was mostly guesswork. I figured it involved some rough sanding, maybe some beating up of the wood, and then some kind of stain or wash. Seemed easy enough on the surface, right?
The Messy Middle Part
So, I went out to the shed. Found the shelf. Dug around for some sandpaper, different grits. Grabbed a hammer, some old screws I kept in a jar, even a short length of chain I found hanging up. Yeah, a chain. Thought I’d bash the wood a bit first, give it some ‘history’, like the pictures showed.
This is where it got messy, and honestly, a bit chaotic.
- I started hitting the wood with the hammer. Left some okay dents, nothing too dramatic.
- Then I dragged the chain across it. That scratched it up pretty good, maybe too evenly.
- I tried using the screws, rolling them hard, poking to make some wormhole-type marks. Felt a bit forced, if I’m honest. Maybe went a bit overboard here trying to make it look ‘authentic’.
- Then came the sanding. I started with a rough grit paper, really trying to wear down the edges. Then I used a finer one, but tried to leave some rough patches. My arm was aching by this point.
Next up was the color. This part was pure trial and error. I found some leftover dark paint in a can, nearly dried out. Added some water to it, stirred it up best I could. Slapped this watery mix onto the wood with an old brush. Let it sit for maybe a minute, then wiped most of it off right away with a rag. It looked… well, it looked wet and dirty. Let that dry for a bit. It wasn’t dark enough. Did it again, this time trying to get the mix into the dents and scratches. Wiped that off too, maybe a bit less thoroughly. It was starting to look… interesting. Not exactly like the smooth, subtle vibe I thought I saw in those Paulo da Silva pictures, but definitely unique. More like something that fell off a truck.
Had to wait for what felt like ages for things to dry properly between these steps. Patience isn’t exactly my strong suit, gotta admit. Almost just slapped some varnish on it and called it a day a couple of times. Felt a bit silly spending a whole afternoon basically beating up a perfectly functional shelf.
Finishing Up (Sort Of)
Once it was properly bone dry, I found some furniture wax. Rubbed a thin coat on it, let it sit, then buffed it up a bit with a clean cloth. Stood back and had a good look. Is it a Paulo da Silva original technique? Probably not even close. Does it look old and weathered? Yeah, in its own special way. Does it look like I made it, with my specific brand of impatience and guesswork? Absolutely.
It’s funny how these things go. You set out trying to copy something specific you saw online, attached to a name like Paulo da Silva. And you end up just making your own weird version anyway because you don’t have the right tools, or the patience, or maybe just the actual skill. Maybe that’s the whole point, though. This whole Paulo da Silva thing, maybe it was just a name I saw that acted as a kick up the backside to actually do something creative, or at least destructive, with that old shelf instead of just letting it gather dust in the shed. End result? Got a unique-looking shelf that holds my garden gloves now, spent an afternoon making a glorious mess, and learned that hitting wood with a chain is strangely satisfying. Good enough outcome for me.
