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Country living, DIY, & a Dash of Fun!

DIY Old Weathered Wood Stain

Although I love the look of weathered wood, I don’t always have an endless supply of old pallets just laying around, ready to use.  This is what I do when I want new wood to look old (and it works wonders).

The best part is that you can find all the ingredients in your cupboard (Woot!).

Supplies:

  • Vinegar (you can use either apple cider or white vinegar)
  • Steel Wool (one or two clumps)
  • Water
  • Coffee (makes wood even darker than the vinegar/steel wool mixture)

Pour a mixture of 1 part vinegar to 1 part water into a container and then throw in one or two clumps of steel wool.  Then let it sit for a couple days.

(I used white vinegar with this mixture)

I used apple cider vinegar with this mixture.

Some wood stains just fine with the vinegar/steel wool mixture, and others may not get as dark as I want it.  I make up a batch of coffee and paint a coat or two onto any wood that I want a little darker.  It always turns out great!

Here’s a table top that I made.  The center piece of wood is an actual old plank but the other pieces are obviously new.  I had to stain the new planks to match the old one.

Remember, staining the wood can take up to an hour for the final color to show through, so use the vinegar mixture first.  Also, all wood stains differently with this mixture so make sure to test spot first.  You may have to add a couple coats to get the desired color you want.  If I feel I want the wood darker still, I then add a coat of coffee.

An hour later, this is how it turned out.  Looks great!

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6 Comments

  1. Tamara Lazare

    Live it! Will try it as I have been doing a lot of wood projects and just ran out of stain.

    • Tee

      Awesome Tamara! You’ll have to send me a pic of a project that you’ve finished using your homemade stain!! 😉

  2. Tammie

    I’m going to try this.
    I L????VE IT!!
    What a great idea, I need a toy box / coffee table????

    • Tee

      Thank you for your sweet comments! I use this stain for almost all of my projects and it is so easy to make!

    • Angela Parrish

      When making stain do you cover or leave uncovered 4 a couple of days

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