(stain after 1 minute)
A very pinteresting idea – make your own wood stain. With materials we already have in the house? Why not?! I let my stain sit for about 2 days before I tried it on a pine board. Initially it went on clear and I thought the concoction had not worked. Ten minutes later I looked over an was amazed. It was like organic, wood lover, up-cycler heaven.
The mix itself was simple. No measuring. I took a piece of steel wool and put it in an old glass jar. I actually made two batches on my first try. One with white vinegar which I had for cleaning purposes and one with apple cider vinegar which I had for salads. The two had different results.
Both stains went on clear initially but within minutes showed good results. The white vinegar had a more rust colored, brown stain and the apple cider vinegar was more of a gray, barn wood, color. I love these stains because many of my projects I work on inside after my kids go to bed when it’s too dark to be outside. I don’t worry about toxic fumes with vinegar stain. Also, I have no hesitation about letting my 3 year old assist me with “painting”.
Unlike the typical wood stain you do not need to wipe this stain off if there is excess. It all absorbs into the wood making it one less step than conventional wood stains. I attached a few pictures of some projects in which I used the vinegar stain. Pine absorbs the stain quickly – a wood like plywood – not so much, so keep that in mind.
white vinegar stain on pine wood sofa table
apple cider vinegar stain blanket ladder
one coat of apple cider vinegar on wood shingles
Heather
April 8, 2016 at 3:02 pmI didn’t get what the recipe is. I only know ghee as clarified butter. Is it something different to you? I really love the look of this and want to try it.
Thanks
H. Landis
rachelmacgillis@gmail.com
April 8, 2016 at 3:29 pmHeather – so sorry for the confusion, I updated the posting and took out the GHEE. What I had meant was I recycled a glass jar that had been for GHEE. any contained will do – a mason jar for example. something big enough to hold a steel wool pad and then cover it at least an inch or so with vinegar (apple cider if you want gray, white vinegar for a reddish brown stain). there’s no secret amount – depends how much stain you need. it takes a day or sometimes a little more for the vinegar to start breaking down the steel wool and that’s what makes the staining occur. the vinegar won’t look much different – so test it out – it will initially go on clear and within 5 minutes you will notice a huge change. please feel free to contact me if I’m still not clear. thanks for looking!!
Cheap DIY Large Rustic Wall Art - Pinteresting Plans
April 16, 2017 at 6:35 pm[…] used a combination of Minwax “classic gray” stain and vinegar wood stain to darken the wood. Then I dry brushed some white to age it and tone it down because my bedroom […]
DIY Large Leaning Floor Mirror - Pinteresting Plans
April 16, 2017 at 6:47 pm[…] used a vinegar wood stain once the piece came together. It came out more reddish than usual and I wanted the piece more […]