Chemistry 101

Pin It Remember back in science class when you had to rust a nail with vinegar?  Well, what do you get when you rust steel wool pads with vinegar?

Rustic Wood Stain - of course.

I poured a container full of vinegar (quart) & put a few course-grade 3 steel wool pads.  The "stain" gets darker the longer you allow the rust particles to sit in the vinegar.  24-48 hours would be a lighter stain. 

For my mixture, I let it go few extra days.  You can stop the process by straining (with a coffee filter) the small metal particles.  However, you will want to use a drop cloth or newspaper under your project.  This is basically rust and it will stain your concrete in the garage.

I wanted a rustic, weathered look for these little storage crates.  At this stage, they look too new.

Below, the one on the left is one I just brushed with the liquid.  The one on the right was the one I did about five minutes earlier.

Here is the beginning raw wood color.

Here are the four crates at four different shades just after I finished the final one.

Final rustic color, still needs to dry and add a layer of poly.

This process could come in handy creating one of those old looking benches for the front porch (when you don't have old reclaimed wood sitting around).

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