How to Make New Wood Look Old, Weathered and RusticHow to Make New Wood Look Old, Weathered and Rustic

I have a confession to make. All the wood that you saw on my art studio wall is not exactly old or salvaged. Will you forgive me if I share with you the Secret to Make New Wood Look Old, Weathered and Rustic? 

In order to have enough wood, I had to buy some new pine boards off the shelf at Lowe’s. I actually chose furring strip boards because they are already chewed up and imperfect.

But, I also grabbed a few other supplies:

Optional: General Finishes Flat Out Flat Top Coat to protect furniture.

(I’ve included affiliate links for your convenience. I earn a small percentage from a purchase using these links. There is no additional cost to you. You can read more about affiliate links here.)

The Secret of Weathered Boards: 

Old rustic boards are gray and have enhanced grain and plenty of dings and character. Replicating that look can be tricky unless you have the right tools, glazes, and a few tricks up your sleeve.

I wrote another post about aging and antiquing that shares some other techniques, but today I’ll focus solely on making new lumber look old.

Weathered boards have a warm gray color. To create this color I stained the boards with Rustoleum sunbleached. Then wiped off the excess.

Next I added a little Minwax Early American and wiped it off.

The results are the blue-gray weathered look. For more dimension and detail try adding the glazing technique described below.

 

My Secret Rustic Glaze Formula:

UPDATE: Valspar stopped making the products I originally used. I’ve tried a lot of alternatives, and settled on General Finishes Van Dyke and Pitch Black glazes to get the same look. The good news is that you don’t need the additional clear mixing glaze.

There is nothing in this world more beautiful to me than rustic barn wood. Those dark chocolate timbers that look like they’ve been gathering dirt for decades are gorgeous in my eyes.

To fake this look I created a glaze that works wonders when wiped over new lumber.

Mix 2 parts Van Dyke glaze and 1 part Pitch Black glaze.

Secret Formula to Age Wood

Mix thoroughly. The resulting color should be a very dark chocolate color. Adjust your color by adding more VanDyke or more Pitch Black.

Dip your flat brush into the glaze and drag it over the wood. The glaze really accentuates the grain in the wood.

Shake or tap the brush on a stick to give your lumber age freckles.

For more uniform color, brush the glaze over the entire board (don’t forget the ends of the wood.)

Rub the glaze into the wood and wipe off any excess.

Take a look at the difference:

Not bad, did you know this farm crate sign is brand spankin’ new?

I hope I fooled you. Here’s the tutorial for making the farm crate sign.

In the meantime, have fun aging those new boards! I’d love to hear if you try these techniques and how they worked for you.

How to Make New Wood Look Old

92 replies
« Older CommentsNewer Comments »
  1. Jackie
    Jackie says:

    Hi, I need some help. I used a oil based rustoleom stain weathered gray. Which came out looking a very blue grey. I did some researching to tone it down. They said use a Ralph Lauren glaze tinted Black Silk. The man at Home Depot told me I can not use that as it is a water based glaze. I need this furniture done in a week and need help on toning it down. Any answers would be appreciated. She would like a true weathered look.

    Reply
  2. Patrick Monahan
    Patrick Monahan says:

    Hi

    It seems that they do not make the translucent color glaze anymore. Do you know of any alternatives? Or can the glaze be effective without?

    Thank You

    Reply
  3. Emily
    Emily says:

    Hi,

    I really like the antique look to those boards. I am trying to do something similar with a pine headboard – totally brand new. But I want it to look more like the white and faded pieces you have on your wall. (Actually the board to the right, at the top of the star, is Exactly how I want my headboard to look.) How did you make the boards lighter?

    Really beautiful wall, by the way!

    Reply
  4. Michael
    Michael says:

    Hi there. So I found all the valspar products finally. My project that I am doing is with brand new douglas fir and I already sanded it down pretty good. Is the effect with all the valspar products going to show up like your did being sanded?

    Reply
  5. Michael
    Michael says:

    Hi. I am trying to locate all the valspar products you have listed and am finding it somewhat difficult. It there any alternatives or do you know where I could find these products? I tried lowes and they did not have it.
    Thanks!

    Reply
    • Brittany Bailey
      Brittany Bailey says:

      Michael, I noticed that our Lowe’s doesn’t carry it either. I actually called Valspar today and they confirmed that it is no longer manufactured. I’m looking for a similar product and will get back to you or I’ll have to write a tutorial on creating your own Asphaltum glaze ;-).

      Reply

Trackbacks & Pingbacks

  1. […] that look with new lumber. To get that rustic look, you either need old reclaimed lumber or the skills to stain and distress new wood. I chose the first option and bought reclaimed rafters from The ReUse Warehouse in Durham, […]

  2. […] glaze for the bedroom’s wooden ledge. i wanted it to look a bit reclaimed/rustic. i followed these directions more or less to make […]

  3. […] How to make new wood look old, weathered and rustic […]

  4. […] Color Glaze; Mocha, Antiquing Glaze, Clear Mixing Glaze I found a tutorial on how to make wood look rustic from Brittany Bailey over at Pretty handy Girl. Thank you […]

  5. […] Pretty Handy Girl: How to Make New Wood Look Old … – I have a confession to make. All the wood that you saw on my art studio wall is not exactly old and salvaged. In order to have enough wood, I had to buy some new pine …… […]

  6. […] How to make new wood look old, weathered and rustic […]

  7. […] Chalkboard lids tutorial here. As a follow up to this post, I shared my top secret recipe for making new wood look old! And how to get the true chippy paint look: You may also want to check out my gallery […]

« Older CommentsNewer Comments »

Leave a Reply

Want to join the discussion?
Feel free to contribute!

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.