DIY Weathered Barn Wood Stain

Make any wood look like weathered barn wood.

When we were cutting our reclaimed barn wood, we exposed edges that were not weathered. We also sanded down the top to its raw color. Here’s our process to refinish it.

Simply Book some water and steep three family size tea bags in a large glass jar with a lid. Let sit overnight to get strong and dark.

Place torn sections of 1 to 1 1/2 sections of steel wool into a glass jar.cover with white vinegar. Poke four air holes in the top of jar lid and loosely seal. To speed up my process I left mine outside with no lid on. The more air it’s exposed to, the faster the chemical reaction happens. Do not forget the air holes, this process needs air to work. Let sit overnight.

Here’s what your mixtures should look like after sitting overnight. Notice the vinegar mixture has not changed color a whole lot.

Using a paintbrush, apply the tea stain to unfinished wood and let dry completely. I waited overnight.

Here is a before picture of the bar top after being sanded

This is halfway through applying the tea stain. Do not be underwhelmed here, the tea stain doesn’t change the appearance much. It’s important though, so don’t skip it!! Again, I let mine dry overnight.

Paint the Vinegar stain over the tea stain, and wait and prepare to be amazed. The reclaimed wood turned gray immediately.

Here I am putting the Vinegar stain onto the bar top.

Just a few minutes later some graying is beginning to happen.

The next morning, it has changed to a smooth weathered gray. You can apply as many coats of the Vinegar stain as you wish, letting dry completely in between. We did two coats.

You can’t tell which is naturally weathered and which isn’t!!

p.s. The window in this pic was trimmed in brand new yellow pine 2x4’s that we also stained using this process!!