how to make NEW wood look OLD

if you love the look of old barn wood you can give any new piece of wood that "aged" look.

 this table here is made from authentic antique barn wood 

 this one is not

 go from this

to this

you will need the following

white vinegar

2 pieces of steel wool #0000

2 tea bags (I like earl grey)  but you can use Lipton or any brand

water to make the tea

a glass jar

you will need to get started at least 24 hours before you are ready to use the "stain"

The first thing you have to do is rip up the steel wool into little pieces and put them inside of the jar.  Next - poor white vinegar into the jar (enough to cover the steel wool)

Let it sit for at least 24 hours.  The longer it sits the darker the color will be that you achieve

after your vinegar mix is ready it is time to make the tea

 Boil your water and steep the tea bags as if you are going to have a cup - for the farm table that I did,  I used two cups of water and two tea bags.

What you are going to do next is to actually apply the tea with a brush like you would if you were using paint.  It will look light and almost natural - let it dry completely .  

The magic doesn't happen until you apply the vinegar mixture over the tea.  Once you start brushing the vinegar over the tea stain the wood will change immediately.  It will turn a grayish brown.

I recommend that you do a little test on a scrap piece of wood first to make sure that you have the desired color

once your vinegar treatment is dry it is a good idea to seal the surface with a clear protective finish (we used a water base polycrylic)

 this is the table before the "aging treatment"

this is the table after

this treatment can give a brand new wood table an old look

for just a few dollars you can add years to the look of a new wood surface

what do you think?

this aging process has been around for a while, for more info check out this 

website for an excellent photographic tutorial

http://www.xrestore.com/Pages/Aging.htm