Distress the wood finish with sandpaper to create a grey wash wood look. Finally, very lightly distress the wood finish with sandpaper until you achieve your desired look! I prefer to use 80 or 150 grit sandpaper wrapped around a piece if wood and hand sand until I get the look I want. A sanding block may be used too.
Here's how to age wood and make it look old and gray. Iron vinegar on fresh cedar lumber: Soak some steel wool in white vinegar for a few hours or a few days - the longer it steeps, the darker the aged effect will be.
If you have new unfinished hardwood floors, you can stain them gray as well. The process is very similar to refinishing a floor. However, there are some differences you should be aware of. You'll need to start with sanding.
Apply the soda paste to untreated wood. Make sure you apply a thick layer of the soda paste. Use undiluted vinegar in a spray bottle and spray generously over the wood coated with the baking soda paste. The vinegar will react with the baking soda to create the graying antique finish.
Minwax Weathered Oak
A semi-transparent stain works well when used as a second layer to a different color to create a grey tint, similar to what we did with our kitchen cabinets.
Minwax Silvered Gray is commonly used when finishing oak floors. It's a very light stain color, but does add a slight silverish hue to the wood.
Berkeley Grey Oak is perfect for any room that requires a calming, antique look. Relaxing ashen hues blend with a meticulously hand-scraped texture in this extra rustic oak floor. Boards feature large knots, splits, and cracks characteristic of oak that's been underfoot for decades.
Create your wash solution in a disposable container. It should be about four parts water to one part paint. If you're just washing a small piece of furniture, start with about 1 cup (0.2 L) of water and mix more as needed. Use a foam brush to paint the wood with the wash solution.
The twigs are stout and a light reddish-brown, covered with grayish down. The leaves are alternate, leathery, long ovate, entire or with a few coarse teeth. They are grayish-green above and felted beneath and may fall in times of winter drought.
How does vinegar darken wood? Vinegar causes steel wool to oxidize, or basically rust. That rust “dyes” the vinegar. Then, that vinegar reacts with the color of the wood that you apply it to, giving it a new, deeper color.
Household chlorine bleach will lighten wood somewhat, but will not remove the wood's natural color. It will, however, remove the greenish gray coloring that is common in poplar, returning it to a more natural wood color. Chlorine bleach may also remove some stains or discoloration in the wood.
Just like hardwood floors, vinegar can eat away at the wax finish on wood furniture, leaving it looking dull and cloudy. But, you'll frequently read that vinegar is ideal for cleaning all types of wood. If you would like to use vinegar on finished or waxed wood furniture, use it extremely infrequently and at your risk.
Here's how you can easily stain a floor using white vinegar and steel wool to achieve a gray-aged look: You can give your white oak floors an aged look by staining them with iron acetate. Iron acetate is easily created by soaking steel wool in white vinegar. Let the vinegar and steel wool sit overnight to three days.
As already mentioned, different wood species will produce different results. Pre-finished birch or maple will easily turn dark brown stains into grey. On an oak, though, a brown stain will remain, well… brown.
The answer: it takes about two weeks for the wood to change from red to gray. However, many factors can contribute to the length of time for the wood to change colors. If your fence is shaded and dry, the color will last longer than a fence exposed to full sun or one that is heavily hit by rain or snow.
Wood Aging Solution Based on Vinegar
To age new wood to a natural silvery gray, to grey-brown or black patina (depending on the wood), let a small piece of steel wool (or a few non-galvanized nails) sit overnight in ordinary white vinegar, then dilute the vinegar solution 1 to 1 with water.