Making something convincingly look well used is more difficult than making it pristinely shiny. Today we began testing the techniques we will use on the trade show booth. I carefully painted on three coats of paint on a shelf and then took the sander to it. Once I had scuffed the corners and edges I added a little acid to the bare metal and quickly got the rust I was looking for... then polished that off a little too. The result was a shelf that looked like it's had years of hard service - just what we were looking for. I still have to add some dirt and grime. Then we do the same on a much larger scale over the entire display booth. It's going to be fun!