How to Make New Wood Look Old, Weathered and Rustic
How to Make New Wood Look Old, Weathered and Rustic
I have a confession to make. All the wood that you saw on my art studio wall is not exactly old or salvaged. Will you forgive me if I share with you the Secret to Make New Wood Look Old, Weathered and Rustic?Â
In order to have enough wood, I had to buy some new pine boards off the shelf at Lowe’s. I actually chose furring strip boards because they are already chewed up and imperfect.
But, I also grabbed a few other supplies:
- General Finishes VanDyke Glaze
- General Finishes Pitch Black Glaze
- Minwax Early American Stain
- Rustoleum Sunbleached Stain
- Rubber Gloves
- Rag
- Wide flat brush
Optional: General Finishes Flat Out Flat Top Coat to protect furniture.
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The Secret of Weathered Boards:Â
Old rustic boards are gray and have enhanced grain and plenty of dings and character. Replicating that look can be tricky unless you have the right tools, glazes, and a few tricks up your sleeve.
I wrote another post about aging and antiquing that shares some other techniques, but today I’ll focus solely on making new lumber look old.
Weathered boards have a warm gray color. To create this color I stained the boards with Rustoleum sunbleached. Then wiped off the excess.
Next I added a little Minwax Early American and wiped it off.
The results are the blue-gray weathered look. For more dimension and detail try adding the glazing technique described below.
My Secret Rustic Glaze Formula:
UPDATE: Valspar stopped making the products I originally used. I’ve tried a lot of alternatives, and settled on General Finishes Van Dyke and Pitch Black glazes to get the same look. The good news is that you don’t need the additional clear mixing glaze.
There is nothing in this world more beautiful to me than rustic barn wood. Those dark chocolate timbers that look like they’ve been gathering dirt for decades are gorgeous in my eyes.
To fake this look I created a glaze that works wonders when wiped over new lumber.
Mix 2 parts Van Dyke glaze and 1 part Pitch Black glaze.
Mix thoroughly. The resulting color should be a very dark chocolate color. Adjust your color by adding more VanDyke or more Pitch Black.
Dip your flat brush into the glaze and drag it over the wood. The glaze really accentuates the grain in the wood.
Shake or tap the brush on a stick to give your lumber age freckles.
For more uniform color, brush the glaze over the entire board (don’t forget the ends of the wood.)
Rub the glaze into the wood and wipe off any excess.
Take a look at the difference:
Not bad, did you know this farm crate sign is brand spankin’ new?
I hope I fooled you. Here’s the tutorial for making the farm crate sign.
In the meantime, have fun aging those new boards! I’d love to hear if you try these techniques and how they worked for you.
This looks really great and easy to make at home. I’m definitely going to try it, I’ve always liked when wood looks older. Thanks for posting.
Hi Brittany. Just found your blog after I saw you follow me on Hometalk. I too am an avid DIY’er and furniture repurposer. (ok. Thats not a word) whatever. I love working with wood as well. I love your wood wall! I’m in the process of building a media cabinet and staining it with the new gray stain that Varathane has. Can’t wait to unveil it! (a few more days) I actually got the plans from Ana White. If you haven’t seen her blog, you must visit. It’s the Restoration Hardware Printers Cabinet. Anyway, I’m off to explore your blog, please come by and visit mine! Looking forward to hearing from you…
Beth
This is so cool! I am going to be posting it to StuffDOT in my BIY bin!
I love layering stains… Isn’t the Sunbleached stain by Rustoleum the bomb?? I am a huge fan (and frequent stalker) of Rustoleum wood products. The Sunbleached looks especially stunning on oak! Did you paint the greenish-blue boards on the wall too? Will you share the color name? I really love that color, as well as the color of the table base and stools!
Cher, yes, I did paint the other boards. Annie Sloan Chalk paint in Robin’s Egg blue and Versailles Green.
I very much appreciate how you share your techniques. I have stripped and stained plenty of furniture but I know absolutely nothing about this other. I know how much I love it. Your one of the few that share step by step tutorials. I have learned so much through your blogs and say everyone of them for reference. Thank You!
Amazing useful formula to age the wood as I also love the look of that old wood.
Awesome. This is going in my arsenal. My hubby and I were wondering what would be a good way to either speed up the aging process or fake it!
Shared it on my Facebook page tonight. You rock.
Jenny
Thanks for all these tips and for sharing your “secret” formula, Brittany. This will come in handy for me one day. Sharing it on the Worthing Court Facebook page tonight.
Great tips! I’m moving next month and want to cover an ugly brick fireplace wall with “aged” wood.
I love the aged wood look! This will definitely be added to the “things to do” list for our first house!
Looks great. Thanks for all the great tips. Cheers.
Love it! Oh yeah, I love this. Hope all is well!
Debbie
Love this technique! Thanks for sharing!
This is so good to know! I wish I’d known before I made my husband struggle with pallet wood to make a perfect octagon mirror recently. 🙂 This is much smarter!