Updated: As a buyer of primitives in old paint on Ebay you don't want to be stuck with any fakes. After more than 30 years in the antiques business i know first hand the sting of having bought a reproduction or a nice old box with fake paint, the price of my education? Certainly getting stung a few times causes me to scrutinize everything and yet any one of us can be fooled especially if you really want that item to be "real" because, it looks so good and it is exciting?

I buy my things locally here in Maine and i ask around......talk to dealers and auctioneers....wanting to know who consigned, etc. I eventually get a pretty good feeling about things. I know for a fact that here in Maine there are a few very "artful" fakers. Personally i'd rather have the item look less than perfect than buy a great looking forged example.

The standard test is to look very carefully at any old age cracks or chips and if there is paint in it, this is a red flag. But perhaps it is overpaint....nice old overpaint and then it is possible to have paint in these cracks. I have been told that when the fake paint is applied, there is a substance that is put on cracks and chips so the paint does not penetrate these areas. The paint can be treated so it will chip and peel just like good old paint. It's a nice old box but is the paint really old? As you look, be suspicious to a degree. 

I would ask yourself, how often does the seller sell painted items? Does it seem like more often than could be real?  I know some of the fake paint is VERY WELL DONE. Another scrutinizing ploy would be to track items being bid on by the seller......it could be passed off to another seller to make the item seem "fresh" and they might shill it. Are the two from the same state?

I've been a dealer here in Maine for over 30 years. My niche is painted prmitives, rugs and folk art and I used to enjoy finding great pantry boxes and firkins with great old paint. For the past several years now, the 'FABULOUS' fake painted ones have appeared on the market in numerous quantities and since then, the prices i can ask for the genuine items have fallen. Imagine how rare they used to be?  Years ago it was difficult to find them and when you saw one, you had to pay the huge price. Today i only buy the ones whose paint simply reeks of age with plenty of imperfections and only after i have talked to the seller or auctioneer and feel very confident that the paint is genuine. If i get that "gut feeling" of something being "off" then i don't buy it. Period.

I know......if it looks good, feels good....and it's what you want....do you care?I know that most buyers care very much. As a seller, if you knowingly sell an item that you know is fake and you claim it is not, then it is fraud, plain and simple. I have seen numerous pantry boxes sold here on Ebay that have that suspicious perfect look and it is a sad situation. I even know a dealer here in Maine who will put on fake paint in a way that even i can't tell. But when i ask him, he is truthful. He always tells me. And if he's at an auction, he will tell me his opinion on other things.  So it pays to know people. I don't approve of what he does, because once it goes beyond him and his buyer, who will know?  I mean they are THAT good!

Know your seller and how often the same items, same colors, appear. Does it have a "greasy" look? Some of the ones i have seen here in Maine that are old boxes with well done FAKE paint look slightly oily. Does it seem like the sellers are continually finding numerous and beautiful looking painted items? They take good old boxes, perhaps a pantry box, firkin or a nice dovetailed box....and apply the paint, looking VERY good? Does it seem too good to be true?

Another tact i have discovered for fake paint is the "dirt" residue, looking a bit like ashes as if the item has been stashed away in some barn or attic for years.  If the "dirt" looks ashey or frosty, take heed. Always take the item into the direct sunlight, if possible. Look carefully at all the tiny cracks and crevices and then as a whole and ask yourself if the wear is consistent with how the item was used. 

I hope that you are not one of the sellers i am referring to, that money is so important to you that you willingly commit fraud. Watch your karma! It'll bite you in the end:) And good luck to all the hopeful buyers out there, i hope you find your savy, honest sellers! There are plenty of us out there!