Tools and Materials
Tools
Materials
- Water-Based Wood Conditioner (aged stained wood, aged charred wood)
- Interior Wood Stain (aged stained wood, aged charred wood)
- Polycrylic Satin Polyurethane
- #00 Steel Wool (pickled wood)
- 120-Grit Sandpaper
- 220-Grit Sanding Sponge
White Vinegar (pickled finishes)
For Distressing Wood
- Gravel
- Drywall Screws
1 - 1 x 2 x 24 Craft Board
- Minwax Dark Walnut Wood Stain
Items may be Special Order in some stores. Product costs, availability and item numbers may vary online or by market. Paint colors may vary slightly from those shown. Availability varies by market for lumber species and sizes.
How Do You Age a Wood Finish?
There are several different techniques that can give wood surfaces an aged look. Which one you choose depends on the look you’d like to achieve. Some pickled finishes offer a whitewashed, driftwood appearance, or you can create a pickled finish using vinegar and steel wool, which darkens wood. If you’d prefer something more characteristic of rustic reclaimed wood, try a distressing technique like texturing wood with a wire wheel brush followed by staining. For other ideas, explore the wood aging options below.
How Do You Make Wood Look Vintage?
You can create a weathered wood stain using vinegar and steel wool. This aging technique quickly darkens the wood, giving it an older appearance.
To create a vintage look, you can use distressing techniques such as making indentions in the wood to replicate years of wear and tear. This can be done using gravel, as outlined below, but there are other methods you can try, including using a hammer and a short chain length. You can also age stain wood with a wire wheel brush. We’ve included these two examples in this guide, as well as a few others.
What Does Vinegar Do To Wood?
You can create a weathered wood stain using vinegar and steel wool. This aging technique quickly darkens the wood, giving it an older appearance.
Does Baking Soda Age Wood?
Yes. You can use a mixture of baking soda and water to create a paste that quickly ages or distresses the wood. This technique works best on woods with a higher concentration of tannins, the acidic chemical compound that makes certain wood species darker, like mahogany or redwood. The paste will strip the dark tannins away, leaving you with a weathered wood look.
Instructions
Each finish requires its own set of tools and materials. Some you may already have around the house; others you may need to purchase before beginning. Some finishes rely on the chemistry of the wood itself, so colors may vary from the results shown and from board to board in the same wood species.
