My end goal with my house is to covert over to a beach themed cottage decor so I would love to have some pieces with a gray weathered wood finish. Most of the stuff I will be staining to look like weathered wood will be pine so I have been testing various solutions.
Helpful videos
For those of us considering a solution of vinegar and steel wool to stain wood there are a couple of videos I would recommend to learn about the process. Rundown – Ebonizing Wood Follow Up explains what iron acetate — the result of steeping steel wool in vinegar — does and how it looks on different woods. He also explains how to enhance it with a tea solution.
The other video I suspect is by the folks at DIY Driftwood although they don’t fess up to that during the video. It goes through trying to get a weather wood finish using 5 different techniques on different woods.
My testing
The last time I tried vinegar and steel wool I let it steep for a week and it turned pine almost black. I want a GRAY weathered wood finish so I wanted to see what would happen if I let it steep for a much shorter length of time. I tried it after 2 hours, 4 hours, 6 hours and it gave me brown, darker brown, reddish-brown. I added a whole lot of white vinegar and it was still brown. I diluted it more and got brown.
I let the solution site 1 weeks, 2 weeks, 3 weeks. No matter what solution I used of steel wool and vinegar I get anything from brown to reddish-brown on pine. This solution doesn’t give an aged look on pine in my opinion. May work great on oak, but I’m not building things in oak.
That’s why I found the videos above — I wanted to understand what steel wool and vinegar do chemically and that the tannins in tea increase the effect for ebonizing or turning wood black.
Some tips on steel wool and vinegar
- make sure you have real steel wool — apparently there is fake stuff
- wash steel wool to remove oil that protects from rust
- do test on the same wood you will be staining using a scrap piece
Weathered gray finish
Back to the drawing board to figure out how to get gray. I was hoping to go directly to gray and not have to stain it dark and then use white wash or liming wax to lighten it.
I wouldn’t mind trying the driftwood finish at DIYDriftwood.com, but $5.80 shipping for 2 little packets that cost $14.99??? I tried emailing and asking if they could send the packets in a USPS first class envelope but they said the packets couldn’t be sent air. They were so resistant to the idea I didn’t tell them that USPS first class goes by truck. Guess they want their shipping fees.
I tried a couple small cans of gray stain and I felt they went on like paint.
Courtesy of the Minwax website
I finally tracked down a can of Minwax Wood Finish Classic Gray 271. The lady at Home Depot said it’s a relatively new color for Minwax and they didn’t have it in the little cans yet so I ended up with a quart. I did a test on a piece of pine and loved how it looked.
I used it as a test on an ottoman tray I made and I’m so happy with how it looks. It is a weathered gray with some of the lighter grain showing through the stain – not solid coverage at all. I love the grays and browns — that’s exactly what I was aiming for. This is an oil stain — be sure to thoroughly stir it before applying.
This is how the tray looked after applying 2 coats of stain.
THANK YOU!!! I have been trying the steel wool/vinegar mix on pine and I agree – too red. I nearly broke out my oil paints (raw umber and ultramarine blue), but not sure how that all will react and I don’t really want a toxic, heavy metal stain on my dining table! I will look for the Minwax Wood Finish Classic Gray 271. Thank you so much for posting!
Always nice to hear that a post has helped someone. I recently built a bench for my entry out of pine and used the Classic Gray stain again and absolutely love how it looks. If you have a chance, send me a pic of your dining table when you get it done. I’d love to see.
When I used the steel wool/vinegar on the pine, it also came out with too much brown. I took my electric sander, and using a fine sanding paper, sanded the wood. There was much more gray after the sanding. Just a hint: I would try this on an old board first.
I can see how scuffing it with sanding would make the color appear differently. I’ll have to give that a try.
agree, made a kitchen island and ended up quite brown with the vinegar mix, but if you sand a bit first, makes a difference. have not finished the table top of the island as i wanted it a different color from the base and havent quite decided what that color is?? any suggestions?
If you soak the wood in Lipton tea first, let dry over night then apply your vinegar and steel wool the next day you will get grey. Pine does not have tannins (Lipton tea does) and it’s the vinegar and steel wool mixed with tannins that changes to grey. 😊
Love your tray. I want more brown, maybe even deeper brown showing through. Have you ever stained with a walnut or other brown stain then used a gray on top? I have an old small 8 drawer dresser I’m dying to try this on.
I have never tried layering different colors of stain. I would try that on a piece of scrap lumber before applying to something I spent a lot of time making! Looks like there’s a lot of good info available like http://www.woodworkersjournal.com/layered-color-special-effects-with-stain/
Do I need a finishing coat if I use this in a bathroom?
Depending on where the wood is going to be, I’d use some kind of finish even if it was just wax to protect from moisture and splashes.
Regardless of the stain – you should always put a finishing coat on. I guess unless it says specifically otherwise. FYI I am in the process of trying a technique to grey out the dark ebony of the iron acetate (vinegar/steel) solution. It will either be a Liming wax or a DIY liming solution to go over top of the dark finish. I’ve only tested it on a few samples but it looks very promising. I did this on red oak with iron acetate solution left for one day. I’ll post pictures when I”m done.
Have you tried a product called Eco Wood Treatment?
Do you have an educated guess as to the reaction it would have on mahogany?I want a grey door but don’t have a scrap piece of mahogany to test on. Also, will this color go away if you sand it out after not liking it? Last question, will it keep oxidizing over time or stop after you clear coat it? VERY COOL
Every wood is so different, there’s no way to guess. I would call lumber places (there are places that specialize in nice woods) and find a scrap of mahogany to test before doing the door. I don’t even want to think how much work it would take to try to sand off a bad stain color – I always test first. The solution does change after applied to the wood, so let the scrap test sit for a few days to see what happens. I sure wouldn’t want to mess up a beautiful mahogany door.
I painted my coffee table a light grey. Can I apply this grey stain over paint? I’m trying to darken and weather this table.
Stain and paint don’t mix — it’s an either/or thing. You might research glazes, waxes, and other things that would darken it.
You will not be able to mix paint and stain together. However, I have had success with watering down gray/black paint to make a thin solution of water and paint – you will need to play with the ratio of paint to water. Then applying that to the wood after using the minwax classic gray stain. This gives a darker finish and still allows for the grain to show without issue as long as your water/paint solution is at a good ratio. .
Hi, I was just wondering if you can tell me how you applied the stain? Brush? Cloth? Leave it on for abut then wipe it off? Thank you
I used a brush, allowed it to soak in for a few minutes and then wiped off any excess. I put two coats on the pine. Other woods may need a different amount. I always test on a piece of scrap lumber first to see how the wood takes the stain.
I would like to find and refinish a poster bed and weather it (and more) exactly the way your ottoman example looks. Can you recommend your favorite way for removing the old finish, be it paint or varnish or whatever? I want to redo my entire family room with the weathered look.
Thanks for what you do.
I haven’t really done any big stripping projects like you’re talking about, but I have two recommendations. First see if one of the citrus based products will work well for you. You’re going to be using a lot of it and it would be nice if it didn’t rot your brain and your hands while you’re using it. Second, please make sure the wood underneath the paint or stain will look good stained. It can be very hard to get all the paint off to clean wood and sometimes the wood underneath just won’t take stain evenly. Good luck with your project. I would be very interested to know how it goes for you.
I’ve done a considerable amount of refinishing in the past. I’ve been very pleased with the results I’ve had had from using a semi-gel stripper on varnish, paint, etc. Just thickly paint it on with an old paintbrush, let it sit as prescribed by the directions and then scrape of with a putty knife or similar tool being careful not to gouge the wood. A plastic, chemical resistant brush helps to clean the pores, as does steel wool. Continue the process as necessary to complete the process. Once the project is stripped, I follow up with steel wool saturated in liquid refinisher/stripper to even out any blotches/remaining finish and help stain take evenly. Be sure to work in a ventilated area and wear eye protection and chemical resistant rubber gloves. I’ve even re-used the stripper several times…ymmv. It is a messy job but worth the effort. Any remaining paint/pigment should enhance your weathered look. Some strippers work much better than others.
Great information! Thank you for posting. I would love to hear which strippers have worked well for you.
Did you put the clasic gray stain over the steel wood and vinegar or you sanded the piece before the stain wood.
I’m doing it with my dinning table and is to reddish so i need to know how to get the gray color.
Thank you
Any experience in getting this same color to work on melamine? I have cabinets that I would love to have this color on, but since it isn’t wood, worried that it wouldn’t look even close…Going for the beach look on a budget….
Stain needs to be absorbed and the one thing melamine won’t do is absorb. Your only option will be a paint and figuring out how to make it adhere to the melamine. I don’t have any experience with that.
I restained my dining bench with weathered gray stain i got from Home Depot. I don’t like how it came out. It has more of a bluish tone to it and not weathered looking at all. Do you think I could apply the vinegar solution to it?! Or do i just strip off the stain and re do the whole thing?!!
Leslie-sand it off. Then use tea bag stain & cover completely using a rag. Let dry 20 minutes. Repeat. Then use a different rag with the vinegar solution, same exact way. Repeat. I did not get that much change at first (mostly a scary grey tone) but then kept doing the process and bingo–after several rub downs of the 2 products (back & forth) I got the color I want. Now I am just searching around for the best finish since it is a tabletop. I don’t want to change the color at all but need it to be completely sealed from water/food and don’t want a shine either. Also not sure about oil-based versus water based finish. Anybody have any advice on that??
Your ottoman, minwax classic gray 271…what type of wood? Can you provide detail instructions on how you did it? Our house just flooded from Hurricane Harvey and we will be building new bathroom cabinets. Thanks
I used the Minwax classic gray on pine. Applied the stain with a rag and wiped off the excess. I did 2 coats. If you use another wood you always have to test to see how the wood takes the stain. I finished it with Minwax polyurethane applying several thin coats. Please let me know if you have any more questions. I’m from Texas and my heart goes out to you and your family.
I’d like to stress the importance of the 2 coat method. Many people only apply one coat because they fear a second coat will make their project too dark. Then they wonder why they can’t get that deep luster/patina. The second coat does not darken. However, it does deepen and create a richer color tone. And when applied correctly, the second coat helps to blend any unevenness. Additionally, the “rub-out” with a clean rag after application of each coat, removes excess stain and blends the finish.
Thanks for the great comment.
What kind of wood is the tray? I’m hoping this works with pine? Did you sand the wood first? Thank you!
The tray is made of pine. I always sand well before staining and finishing.
Beautiful project! I am thinking of trying that for wood shutters — light gray siding on the house. It needs a punch of something. House is in the mountains – needs something rustic.
I read that apple cider vinegar & steel wool (0000 grit) creates grey & that white vinegar steel wool solution creates a brown driftwood barn wood type color. I cannot find the post but have filled both my quart mason jars with one of each and one each torn up steel wool. Going to test and report back. Also will be coating with a strong solution of black tea first to bring out the tannins in the pine I will be using.