Aging Cypress

[Larry Rose]

A friend has asked me to rebuild an old garden bench. This thing is toast and should be used for fire wood. However, her father built it and she wants to use as much of the origional wood as possible. I will have to replace some broken and missing pieces. Does any one know of a way to "age" the new wood to match the old unfinished grey wood?

 

[Gofor]

Depends on the wood. Iron-rich water, ammonia, etc can do the age thing but have different effects on different woods. I have never worked with cypress but would imagine ammonia would be the best to accelerate the oxidation. Please wait for the experts, but if no replies, try it on some scrap.

 

[Travis Porter]

Not an expert, but in my experience, it doesn't take it long to turn gray. Leaving it out in the sun will turn it, but as you sand/finish what you are dooking you will sand the gray away again and have to wait.

 

[DaveO]

I've read of several products and concoctions that are supposed to help age wood quicker than time itself. How well they work I don't know.
Here's an article:
http://www.xrestore.com/Pages/Aging.htm

and another:

http://www.woodweb.com/knowledge_base/Aging_yellow_cedar.html

I was able to find the name of a finishing product that is supposed to help age wood, I read about it in an article on making picture frames from old barn wood :eusa_thin

Dave

 

[Larry Rose]

Dave, the tea and "rusty water" trick sounds like it might work. When it cools off a little, I'm going to try it. Thanks.

 

[mshel]

Larry,

Got a couple of tried and true methods to age wood. Use them at your discretion.

Mix regular baking soda with water and create a slurry mixture. Paint it on the wood making sure to get a good coating all over. You will have to keep stirring the mixture as the soda will settle. What you should see is a milky white pastey consistency. Try it on a scrap first as it may not give you the color you are after.

Use caution with this one.

Mix approximately one heaping tablespoon of Draino to one cup of water. Stir it well and make sure all the crystals are gone. Again, paint on with an old brush, try to get a good coat on all surfaces quickly as this one really kicks off. Try on a piece of scrap as I am not sure how this will react with your species of wood. I have used this on mahogany and it really brings out the natural red color. You will have to watch it closely and when it gets the color you want, rinse of the mixture with water.

This sounds like a lot of work but if you want to try and beat Mother Nature, it takes some work. Let me know if you find a better alternative.

Mike

 

[Gofor]

If using Draino crystals, realize that it is sodium hydroxide (lye), a very strong alkalie, and if gotten in your eyes can cause a permanent and progressing loss of eyesight,(Use eye protection, gloves, and have a bucket of clean water handy to rinse off any body parts that come in contact with it). This is the same stuff that they used to use in slaughter houses to dissolve all the scrap hide, bones, etc. If it spills in the yard, don't expect much to grow there for a couple of years. It also will dissolve aluminum.
It is very good for removing grease and rust from iron/steel. In another life, we used a 1000 gal tank to dip maintenance stands to strip off all the paint and clean the rust in one operation (doesn't work on epoxy or polyurethane, tho)
A acidic solution is the neutralizer, so having a jug of vinegar handy wouldn't be a bad idea to neutralize spills or splashes.
Oh yeah, if you use a natural bristle brush, it will probably dissolve the bristles.
Do not mix it with bleach. Doing so can liberate phosgene, chlorine and possibly flourine gas, all deadly and two are odorless.
Enough with the cautions. It is a good chemical with a lot of positive uses but be careful with it.

 

[jeff...]

Not sure if your trying to match the grain or not. If your looking for a raised grain pattern like old barn wood. Try and plan the lumber with very dull knifes, then soak the lumber in water. When it dries back out the grain will raise. I learned this technique working at an antique repair shop back in the day. The knifes need to be real dull, almost to the point where your planner is beating the wood instead of cutting it. We had a set of knifes just for this purpose.

As for gray lumber I would agree with other who suggested the use of alkalie, I would think that should work well.

Just my 2 cents...