While reclaimed wood is a popular material, sometimes it can be expensive and hard to find. Fortunately, you can get the look of reclaimed wood without the wait and expense. At Maryland Wood Countertops, our woodworkers know how to make wood look old and rustic.
How to Make Wood Look Old and Rustic: Simple But Clever Methods
The popularity of distressed furniture inspired woodworkers to develop effective methods to make new wood appear aged. Some popular techniques include:
- Steel wool and vinegar
- Sun bleaching
- Paint and glue
- Hammers, nails and screws
- Roughing up wood
- Weathering paint
How to Make Wood Look Old and Rustic: How it Works
One way to start the wood distressing process is scratching up new lumber with steel wool. The best woodworkers know how to dissolve steel wool in vinegar to create a stain. They can also make an additional tea-based stain.
A strong brew of black tea alone will make paper and fabric take on the color of a sepia photograph. Combined with steel wool and vinegar stain, tea makes new wood look like it came out of a log cabin.
Sun bleaching also requires vinegar. It’s an ideal technique if you want wood that looks as if it came from the outside of an old barn.
Crackled wood is popular for pieces like dressers, dry sinks, sideboards and even picture frames. Pros achieve the crackled look by painting or staining over tacky school glue. It takes time for the paint and glue to dry to give it an antiqued look is authentic.
Alternating heavy and light sanding with coarse sandpaper exposes different shades in the same piece of wood.
For weathered paint, a woodworker scrapes a painted board to give it texture and remove some paint. Sunlight exposure ages the paint.
Woodworkers use hammers, nails and screws to give wood the authentic dents and holes normally found in old barn wood. Screws create the illusion of wormholes. During the finishing process, we fill holes with epoxy in the process of finishing the wood.
Choosing Your Preferred Look for Newly Distressed Wood
The best wood design options for your custom furniture depend on the piece. A rustic table serves a different need than shelving and requires a different method to make it look old.
One more option for new wood that looks old is to use a live edge slab. The natural edge is the outside of the tree. Live edge slabs are perfect for floating mantels and bar tops. The gnarled edge makes a new slab look old and rustic.
While the rustic look is popular among our clients, you can collaborate with designers and woodworkers at Maryland Wood Countertops to achieve any look you desire. Call us at 443-840-7373 to schedule a consultation.
