Juan Posted July 16, 2016 Report Share Posted July 16, 2016 First things first. I'm new in the forum, so hello everyone and thanks in advance for your advices. My project is aging raw pine stairs. I'm on the samples phase still, but close to a final decission. Following some advices of the knowledge base articles fom another wood website (and a lot of intuition and try-error method, 'cause there's no indication of proportions for the dilutions) I've used a solution of 8% acidity vinegar, iron sulfate (ferrous sulfate heptahydrate) and green tea (for adding tannins), to age/weather it. The results are beautiful, but not very much what I expected. It's grey, indeed, but more a brownish or dark grey than the silver/blueish grey that show the pics of some of the users recommending this method. So it's more something like the planks in this pic (not the doors), or darker:http://www.woodweb.com/images_forums_public/finishing/DSC05417.JPG (found here: http://www.woodweb.com/forum_fdse_files/finishing/776718.html) than something like thishttp://www.woodweb.com/knowledge_base_images/zp/matching_the_look_of_aged_barn_boards_1.jpg (found here: http://www.woodweb.com/knowledge_base/Matching_the_Look_of_Aged_Barnboards.html)http://www.woodweb.com/knowledge_base_images/bah/artificially_aging_and_weathering_wood_02.jpg (found here: http://www.woodweb.com/knowledge_base/Artificially_Aging_and_Weathering_Wood.html) I found that adding the tea into the mix and giving just a coat, instead of giving a coat of the tea and then, once dried, a coat of the iron sulfate+vinegar dilution, gives a lighter tone and kinda blueish shades, but never similar to the pics referred. Before anyone suggests it i've also tried using iron acetate (vinegar+steel wool), and the results are more brown to red than grey. Also tried diluting the solution (although not incresing iron sulfate concentration, however). And used black tea isntead of green tea. Anyway my problem now is that there are some spots where the wood has cat urine (please, don't ask... long story) and in that spots the solution does not work. As it dries, the yellow pine reapears. Sanding has worked with some spots (not get rid at all, but wood gets some of the product) but i guess it's because they're the most superficial. I've seen house remedies that use hydrogen peroxide, or a mix of it with dish soap and baking soda, but not tried yet 'cause I'm not sure if it will affect the absortion of the iron sulfate or even react with it, I fear the cure could be worse than the disease. Any help is more than welcome, so.... ¿Any ideas? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shaneymack Posted July 16, 2016 Report Share Posted July 16, 2016 Welcome to the forum Juan! I have no advice at all for you. I do have to say you get the award for "best thread title for first time poster". Congratulations sir ! Sent from my SM-N910W8 using Tapatalk 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Juan Posted July 16, 2016 Author Report Share Posted July 16, 2016 great short stories... thats my thing!! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
..Kev Posted July 17, 2016 Report Share Posted July 17, 2016 I really don't have any advice on aging the pine. Guess I never thought about doing it for lots of reasons.. Time to get the cat to pee on some samples so you can test some fixes Welcome to the forums and good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wtnhighlander Posted July 17, 2016 Report Share Posted July 17, 2016 I'm guessing the urine has a ph level opposite the vinegar, which would inhibit the reaction you are after. Not sure how to remove it, short of sanding/scraping away the surface. As for getting the silver-grey color, try adding ultra-violet light. The weathering of outdoor pieces is the result of exposure to sunlight as much as anything. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Juan Posted July 20, 2016 Author Report Share Posted July 20, 2016 On 17/7/2016 at 5:53 AM, wtnhighlander said: I'm guessing the urine has a ph level opposite the vinegar, which would inhibit the reaction you are after. Not sure how to remove it, short of sanding/scraping away the surface. As for getting the silver-grey color, try adding ultra-violet light. The weathering of outdoor pieces is the result of exposure to sunlight as much as anything. yeah, and noh... yeah, ammonia is a base (ph 11) and vinegar is an acid (ph around 2), but i've also made samples with water, instead of vinegar, and got the same results. Thanks anyway Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BonPacific Posted July 25, 2016 Report Share Posted July 25, 2016 You might want to try on of those "enzyme cleaners" they sell for pet urine. Try a sample first to see if it negatively affects your finish, and then try it on the stair itself. You could always use a grey wood dye, it looks like W.D. Lockwood has a couple options, and this may obscure the urine stain, since you're adding color rather than relying on a chemical reaction. Seems like UV light would work... but that has got to take ages. I've been watching the neighbor's cedar fence grey-out, and even in direct sunlight in the summer it's taking months to get there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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