We are building an outdoor kitchen in this corner of our pole barn. We bought this bar and it had small ribbed tin, and white trim. (Oh the horror!!) The first thing we did was rip that white trim right off!! See the before picture below!
We replaced that wimpy tin with larger panels, and then got to work on the trim. In our stash of reclaimed barnwood, we found enough materials, but during the cutting process we exposed some edges that were raw wood with no color or age. See the difference in the picture below.
Not cute!! Don’t worry, I can fix that!!! I mixed up a couple of batches of my favorite stain treatment and all is right with the world!!! Here’s my process!!
First, brew up a strong batch of tea. Add boiling water to three family size tea bags (I like Luzianne), and seal in a mason jar. Let it sit overnight and becomes strong and very dark.
Next, tear some steel wool into pieces, and put them in a glass jar. Cover the wool with white vinegar. Poke four or five holes in the top of the jar and seal very loosely. The chemical process needs air to work, so don’t skip this step. To expedite the process, I left the lid off, and let it sit outside overnight. This mixture does not change color but works like magic.
Using a paintbrush, paint the tea mixture onto your surface and let dry completely. Don’t be chinchy with it, we want to deposit the tannins from the tea into the wood, so coat it good. Try not to be disappointed by this first step, it doesn’t really change the appearance much. It’s very important though, so don’t skip it!!
When the tea stain is completely dry, paint the same spot with the vinegar stain, and prepare to be amazed. This old barnwood turned gray while I was painting!
This is the bar top before any stain.
Applying one coat of tea.
Me, applying vinegar stain first thing in the morning because I was so excited!!
Just a few minutes later..... Literally watching the magic happen!!
The next morning after it had dried completely. You can now put another coat to achieve the look you want. We did two coats of vinegar, and then two coats of polyurethane since it will be outside.
I love that you can’t tell which wood was naturally weathered and which we weathered ourselves. The window trim in the background was also treated with this stain mixture. It works great for barnwood signs too!! Keep in mind all types of wood change at different rates and tones, so you might want to do a spot test to make sure you will love the results. Tell me, will you try to make your own barnwood stain?