I’m renovating an 50 year old adobe and block home in Tucson, AZ and have mounted 75 year old salvage beams for my gateway entries. The sun down here can really bleach out wood over time, but some wood details are just not available in an aged silver grey patina. My problem – I’ve added a few new fir and pine elements like corbels and inside-corner/quarter-round trim and two years later they are just barely starting to show oxidation.
I’ve tried a thin wash of grey woodstain and it’s a close match but still too new looking. I’ve also tried to make a mash of a high nitrogen mix grass fertilizer (paint on wood and expose to sun for 1 hour) but with no success. How do I get this new wood to quickly match the aged patina of the old?
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Pics would be helpful, but without them and going by your description of needing more bleaching action.....I'd suggest two-step (hydrogen peroxide) wood bleach. ( Two bottles in the package) That should remove the natural color and leave the wood quite light. If one treatment, left until material is exhausted and wood is once again dry......isn't enough......hit it again.
Available at big boxes, paint stores, etc. Look at the date on the package. If more than 6 months old, it might be suffering for gusto. Try to buy something with a current date on it.
Test on some scrap first. It might take it farther than you'd like. Use a watch on your test pieces and shut the process off if leaving it run full course (until the material is exhausted) makes it too light. You can shut it down with some vinegar.
If you need silver tones, try using that grey stain after the bleaching. The bleaching process will leave some salts on the surface and those should be neutralized with vinegar and then rinsed with water. When the wood is thoroughly dried again is when I'd try the stain.
Edit: Two ways to do this. Apply solution A and then apply solution B. Or.........mix the two together and then apply. If viable material, you see some foaming. If no foaming is apparent, the material is likely too old. Return to store and get your money back. Buy fresher material.
If mixing the two together and then applying, don't mix it altogether but just what you need for your test each time. Once mixed together the chemical action begins and will continue until exhausted. You lose what you don't use in short order.
If applying individually, use separate brushes and don't get confused and put the A brush in the B container by mistake.
Edit again: Since you've already stained these pieces, I fear that the bleach won't have the same ability to lighten the wood because the wood fibers are already occupied and won't be as absorbent and vulnerable. You may well have to sand off the stain first to expose bare wood. Testing on scrap becomes ever more important in this instance.
Knowledge is power, but only if applied in a timely fashion.
Edited 4/26/2005 9:33 pm ET by GOLDHILLER
Edited 4/26/2005 9:47 pm ET by GOLDHILLER
Edited 4/26/2005 9:57 pm ET by GOLDHILLER
THX! You are right about problems in backtracking this one. The stain is in and may be problemtic to get out. I have other projects that require this though, so I will try the hydro peroxide. If it works, I'll post pix.
I only used 2 part bleach once on ash. And it came out a very unatural white. A burnt out bleached look, certainly not an aged look.Jeff Jewitt meantion the use of nitric acid to give pine an aged look.
Granted. "Unnatural" looking results are possible.For example, two-step will bleach walnut to a light cream color….. say about the color of the sapwood or even lighter. This would usually require multiple applications to achieve, but eventually it'll get there. The removal of just some of that color is sometimes exactly what's needed to match in a piece of new walnut when doing repairs on or matching in a new leaf for an old walnut table. Etc. Just what might be required to yield what 24ART desires is impossible to say from this distance and the "bestest" of advice is even more so without pics of both the target and the new wood. But frequently attempts to stain your way to a matched look are hindered only or primarily by the underlying color of the wood………. because it's too dark, too red, too yellow and so forth. Removal of some of that background color is sometimes all that's required to achieve success with a follow-up colorant. Depends.Experiments and a stopwatch come in handy when doing this type of work. Experience is usually helpful, too…..but no guarantee of success on a first attempt. Or on a second. Or on a third. Knowledge is power, but only if applied in a timely fashion.
Bill, Here's an example.Casings around the windows are maple, untouched since the 30's.I was forced to use poplar for the entire crown assembly. I'm sure you're familiar with the greens in this wood. That had to be removed before successful coloration could take place.Knowledge is power, but only if applied in a timely fashion.
Basically that is what I did with the ash.I had gotten a lot for a table top and needed one more board. It was way darker than the others. Tried to lighten it, but ended up "white" and had to do the others.Then use stained them all to get the final results.
It's a learning experience, eh? <G>Knowledge is power, but only if applied in a timely fashion.