How To Create Barn Wood Look

Aging wood instantly closeup

1 month old and 3 month old steel wood vinegar

0000 steel wool

How to age wood table top

Soaking steel wood in vinegar

Size to tear steel wool

Crazy digital book iphone

Aging wood instantly to save tons of money and make your own barn wood. Wood that doesn't have bugs!

The only way I can think of that's cheaper than this technique is to leave boards outside to weather naturally. I don't know about you but I don't have that kind of time.

The problem with using real barn wood

Unless you have family or a friend with an old barn it's expensive!
In some areas, it's hard to find. Like Arizona! {we live in Arizona}
Barn wood can be brittle and various thicknesses and widths.
Cleaning and sanding the wood to get ready to use is daunting.
It can have bugs! The thought of this one stops me in my tracks every time.

So instead, I find myself aging wood instantly for many of the DIY projects I share here on Country Design Style.

Let's do this together today, OKAY?

This post contains affiliate links. I will make a commission for your purchase at no extra cost to you. Think of it as a friend letting you know where I found a product I use, love or want. Click here to read my full disclosure policy.

Supplies and Tools

Shop for supplies and tools

Steel Wool – Grade #0000 {A higher grade can work but takes longer to break down}
White vinegar
Black tea bag
2 pint NEW or clean and dry mason jars {I like the wide mouth jars for this…better to fit the paintbrush!}
Two paintbrushes
Hammer and one nail
Oh! A piece of new wood to age! 🙂

Making the mixture of steel wool and vinegar

[Do this 24 hours in advance]

Tear the steel wool into small pieces. I'd say inch pieces, but as you can see the steel wool pulls apart in long chunks. Add the pieces to your jar. Cover it with white vinegar and screw on the lid.

Amounts to use

In a pint jar, tear a quarter of the pad and add 1 cup of vinegar. If you're making a quart, tear 3/4 of a pad and 2 1/2 cups of white vinegar. Do not add too much steel wool to the jar. The amounts above are enough to produce the effect needed.

Important next step

Punch 3 small holes in the seal of the mason jar using the nail and hammer. Notice I add the date of the solution. I age wood often! In my workshop, there are several jars with different dates. The solution darkens over time.

Add the seal and ring on your jar. Set in an area away from sunlight, and in an even temperature location. Outside if possible. I place mine in the garage or my workshop. I had a reader contact me that her jar sitting in the laundry room exploded. Vinegar can cause the temperature of the steel wool to rise.

Be extra cautious and add holes to the top and place in an even temperature location.

Now the hard part…wait 24 hours!!!!

While you wait, grab your free copy of New Wood to Barn Wood Instantly and bonuses!

Using ironed vinegar and tea with chalk-based paints

I've tested the aging wood technique with chalk-based paints. Here are the results I've found.

Using the tea and vinegar on top of the chalk-based paint results in an aged look to the paint and color. But the look is more dirty aged instead of natural age. Applying the chalk-based paint first blocked the tea and vinegar from adsorbing into the wood.
Using the tea and vinegar technique first, then applying chalk-based paint works beautifully, IMO. Using a damp soft cloth and rubbing over the paint to reveal the aged wood underneath, makes my heart pitter-pat a bit faster.

Ironed vinegar after 24 hours

After strumming your fingers, pacing the floors, drinking too much coffee or tea {given the cast of characters} and waiting for the 24 hours to pass, the jar of steel wool and vinegar will look…

about the same!

But trust me. It is now "ironed vinegar." I don't strain the broken up pieces of steel wool. You can if you wish. To strain, use a coffee filter and pour the solution into another jar.

Time for Tea

Black tea contains more tannins than most other teas. The tannins in the tea darken the tannins in the wood. Black tea is inexpensive and we know it contains tannins. Save your expensive teas for drinking.

Make a cup of tea or a jar of tea . The tea can be room temp, warm or hot.

Now, let's age wood! How to make new wood look like old barn wood.

Paint your tea on your new wood. Cover completely with one coat and let dry completely. So far…

the wood will not have changed much !!

Next is when the magic happens!

Paint your wood with the "ironed vinegar." Dip your brush into the vinegar {holding your nose} :/ and paint.

Painting with tea and vinegar is like painting with water. The wood will age while you paint. Don't worry about brush overlaps. The color evens out when dry. It evens according to the wood grain. Areas that were lighter will remain aged lighter than the darker areas of the grain. The ironed vinegar reacts with the tannin in the tea and tannins in the wood. It usually darkens more as it dries.

The photo above shows the process. It's the same piece of new pine wood as it dries with each step.

A slightly different technique to get the DIY barn wood

A sweet reader asked what would happen if the teabag was added to the jar of ironed vinegar. I couldn't believe I hadn't tried! So I did, and below are the results.

mason jar with ironed vinegar and teabag

Instead of making a separate jar of tea, add the teabag into the jar of "ironed vinegar." First, I strained the solution through a paper towel to remove the bits of steel wool. Then added a teabag to the "ironed vinegar." I let it sit for 5 minutes.

This white pine board shows the first technique. I used it to show how to age wood on a live video.

Above the area on the left is still wet with the ironed vinegar and tea mixed together.

At first, I didn't think anything would happen.

And then….

The solution dried and turned the white pine gray. Please do be aware; you may get slightly different results due to the type of wood.

I will make a few projects using the tea and vinegar in the same jar. I'll keep you posted.

Sanding the layers to see more magic

Sanded aged wood | Country Design Style | countrydesignstyle.com

The tea and vinegar you painted soaked down into the fibers of the wood. By sanding you can see lighter shades of aged wood.

Notice thegray under color.

I created my first web story on aging wood instantly.

Additional notes & common questions answered

When you finish painting with the tea I pour it out. Tea will mold. yecch!

1 month old and 3 month old steel wood vinegar

I keep leftover "ironed vinegar." When I make a new batch, sometimes I'll add it to an old batch after 24 hours.

The jar on the left is 3 weeks old…the jar on the right is about 3 months old.

How does the aging process work?

What happens to age the wood? Black tea has lots of tannins. Tannin adds the dark color to tea and the bitterness. It's natural in black tea. The wood soaks up the tea with tannin. The vinegar acid breaks down the steel and adds iron to the vinegar. The iron adheres to the tannin and they both turn the layer of wood dark or "aged."

Using other teas and vinegar

I get asked about all other types of vinegar from apple cider to balsamic vinegar. My personal opinion is white vinegar works, it's available and inexpensive. I did finally try red wine vinegar with the same results. I'll still use white vinegar for aging wood and use the expensive kinds of vinegar for salads.

Readers also ask about using a different type of tea. Fancy teas may or may not contain tannins. Black tea works and, like plain o' white vinegar is inexpensive.

The brushes I use

A question I get asked often is, what is my favorite paintbrush? I love these brushes !!! If I'm painting a bookcase, this one with a short handle is great. Fits between the shelves!

Things to watch for

The technique will stain your hands. If you're concerned, do wear gloves.

If you keep ironed vinegar in a mason jar for several months, the ring may rust. You can use clean plastic containers if you wish. Do poke holes in the plastic lid.

When applying the ironed vinegar, you may notice lighter and darker areas where your brush overlaps. Don't worry! As the wood dries the color evens out.

Aging wood instantly using steel wool and vinegar

The cost of making the aging wood instantly solution

This is my rough estimate to make a pint of tea and a pint of ironed vinegar.

Steel Wool .18
Vinegar .50
1 Tea Bag .04
2 Pint Mason Jars 2.80
Total $3.52

Since you're painting with a water-based substance, the coverage is approximately 25 – 50 square feet.

You can see why I enjoy making weathered wood using tea and ironed vinegar.

Your aged DIY barn wood looks amazing with Chalk Couture! Click to learn more about Chalk Couture and about this quick way to make farmhouse decor for your home.

The tabletop that most likely brought you to this post!

Click the images to shop the post

If you have any questions regarding aging wood instantly leave a comment below or click here to contact me.

In the meantime, I'm counting my pennies and making a cup of tea…to drink!

Join the newsletter

Subscribe to get our DIY HelpLetter each Thursday. Plus grab your Interior Decorating Ideas e-book.

Success! Now check your email and click to confirm your subscription and grab your Interior Decorating Ideas download e-book!