Aging New Wood ~ DIY Friday

Have you ever come across a gorgeous DIY project requiring beautifully aged barn wood or fantastically rustic pallet boards...both of which you do not happen to have laying around?  Have no fear!  Pin that DIY project!  And gather up a couple materials while you're at it to make a magic potion that will make any new wood old again!

I first discovered this fantastic concoction over at Sweet Pickins and Pin'd it right away to my DIY Friday Board.   So what exactly do you need?  White vinegar (or apple cider vinegar), steel wool and a jar.  That's it.  Pour enough vinegar in your jar to completely submerge your steel wool.  Give it a shake or two and let it sit for 24 hours-ish.  The longer it sits the darker it becomes.

I let my mixture sit for about 2 days.  I then took a clean rag and rubbed the wood down liberally.  If you do have an older piece that you want darker I would recommend sanding a bit first.  That picture was BEFORE and here is the AFTER.  So simple!

You can see it really takes on an aged, grayed weathered look.  I've done this same technique on a piece of wood that was aged out in the sun for years.  It was gorgeous but I had to cut it for my project.  I used the vinegar stain just on the cut ends and it looked great!  

As you can see from the picture below the staining takes effect immediately   The boards above were the test pieces for the project I am working on below.  You can see the finished project next DIY Friday!  Any guesses for what it will be?  I'll give you a hint...it includes Mason Jars!

One small warning to all my clever fellow DIY'ers.  This potion stinks.  Like real bad.  But it's worth it.  At least I think so.  It sure did the trick on my plank of wood I used for my Outdoor Mason Jar Chandelier secret project I'll show you next week.  

Have you stained new wood before?  Did you use vinegar and steel wool or some other wonderful way that I don't know about...yet.  Please tell me  =)