diy: all-natural wood stain

(jump straight to recipe)

diy: all-natural wood stain

Today we're going to walk through the process of how I stained this beautiful chest using only natural ingredients that you likely have lying around your home. This post will get a wee bit "science experimenty" in places, something I shall not apologize for because the whole process is super cool. Am I a nerd? Probably. I shall not apologize for that either.

This lovely chest was handcrafted by Scott for our oldest daughter, and I saw staining it as the perfect opportunity to gather pics and work through the process. I encountered a troubling snag or two along the way, but no worries; it all turned out fine in the end. Which was a huge relief because the chest isn't mine to ruin, and also because I'm a nerd who happens to love happy endings.

supplies

• steel wool

• vinegar (I used distilled white)

• tea ball or tea bag(s) (I used peppermint)

• sandpaper (120 grit)

• eco-friendly varnish or this

• foam brushes

step 1

Tear apart your steel wool and add it to a container filled with enough vinegar to completely submerge it. I used distilled white, but I've read that the type of vinegar doesn't really matter.

Leave the container uncovered overnight and in a well-ventilated area. Whats' going to happen (and here we have our first nibble of science) is that the acetic acid in the vinegar will remove the coating on the steel wool, thereby allowing the iron to quickly rust. This rusting process creates iron acetate, as well as hydrogen gas, which is why we want to let this transformation unfold in a ventilated area.

Until this particular project, I'd always rusted my steel wool in water. The process is much slower, however, and to speed things up I'd have to periodically remove the steel wool from the jar and let it sit out for a spell to introduce more oxygen before re-submerging it. Working with the vinegar was a whole different—and much easier—experience. The steel wool was already breaking down quite nicely after only one night spent hanging out in the vinegar, and after about two days, I found it had completely dissolved. Having made this rusty solution both ways, I would definitely recommend the vinegar version, largely for speed. Once your steel/vinegar solution is ready (i.e. nice and rusty), it's time to get started.

step 2

Brew your tea and let it steep for an hour or so. Once your tea is done steeping, use a foam brush to carefully "paint" the bare wood with tea. Make sure the wood is thoroughly saturated and that you've covered it completely. I've experimented with stronger cups of tea (two tea balls instead of one) and also with multiple coats of tea. My favorite, and what I've used here, is a one tea-ball cup of tea with only one coat applied. I needed just about the entire mug of tea to cover this chest with that one coat. Once your piece has been tea-stained, let it dry completely.

One coat of tea has been applied and it hasn't really changed the color of the chest

a brief science intermission

If, like me, you really enjoy knowing the why of things and always have a million questions, then this section is tailor-made for you. However, if you don't really give a damn about the purpose of the tea, then feel free to jump on ahead to step 3. No hard feelings, really. If you're sticking around, though, it's time to buckle up for some more science-based fun!

While I've successfully stained both paper and cloth with tea in the past, I've found it does very little to change the color of wood (if you're using mint tea, anyway). Consequently, there won't really be much—if any—of a color difference after painting it on. Its role here is simply to add additional tannin to your wood project.

Tannin is a bitter astringent found naturally and commonly in virtually all plants, helping to protect them and possibly regulate growth. According to Wikipedia, "The astringency from the tannins is what causes the dry and puckery feeling in the mouth following the consumption of unripened fruit, red wine, or tea." Some of the foods highest in tannins are coffee, wine, chocolate, and the star of our show today: tea.

It's important to note that different types of tea contain different degrees of tannin, so your tea selection can affect your stain color. I always go with peppermint (mostly because it's what I drink), which is low in tannins. Black tea, on the other hand, contains the highest concentration. I've never actually stained anything using black tea, but I'll admit that the prospect piques my curiosity. I'll update this post should I ever get around to it!

Not only does the type of tea factor in, but also the type of wood. Some woods, such as oak, walnut, and cherry have naturally high levels of tannin and might not even require this initial application of tea. Personally, I've never tea-stained without the tea step, though, and so can't attest to the end result. Based on these varying levels of tannin, different woods will also stain different colors. Most of my projects here at home—including this one—are crafted from pine, which is low on the tannin scale.

If you're at all picky about your final color, I'd highly recommend testing with different types of tea on either some scrap wood or parts of the furniture that won't be seen. This will give you an idea of what you'll end up with, eliminating the surprise factor. That element of surprise—waiting to see what hue will emerge—is often part of the fun for me; even so, I confess that when prepping for this tutorial I did many (many) tests to see precisely where I was heading.

(and this concludes our science class for today)

step 3

There's been little visual change in our project so far with only the tea applied, but now it's time for some rapid transformation with the application of our rusty solution. After some trial and error, I settled on diluting my rust solution to achieve the look I was going for. Once the steel wool had completely dissolved, it made for a very rusty liquid that left more of a painted look on my wood than I was aiming for. Diluting it some helped me to achieve the stained finish that I really wanted. I simply added several tablespoons of the steel/vinegar to a small, glass container and then diluted it with equal amounts of water. This 50/50 ratio turned out to be just what I needed.

Once your tea layer has completely dried, use your foam brush to paint on the diluted rust solution. It will at first appear light, but it will then darken steadily over the next 60 minutes or so as the iron acetate reacts with the tannins. Let this first coat dry completely.

The first coat of steel/vinegar solution has been applied and left the chest a shade of grayish brown

another example

As an example of how radically the color changes after an hour or so, look to the lil' tree below for visual evidence. This adorable evergreen was a handcrafted Christmas gift from my talented brother. I opted to tea-stain it, and the photos illustrate the change in color over about an hour or so. The first picture was taken immediately after having applied the first and only coat of rust/vinegar; the middle picture was about 30 minutes later; and the picture on the right was approximately 60 minutes after the coat of rust was first applied. The difference from start to finish is always pretty impressive. Beautiful, too ♥

some helpful tips

I do have some tips about applying the rust mixture, tips that I hope will allow you to learn from my past mistakes and hopefully prevent the same mishaps for you!

1. Do not let the rust solution pool up anywhere. Doing so will cause these areas of wood to absorb more of the rust than others and leave you with a water-stained kind of look (which isn't very pretty). Simply blot up any standing puddles as you move along.

2. Work steadily over your piece and don't fret over what appears to be varying color tones as you brush is on. As long as you keep moving (like, don't take a coffee break in the middle of applying your rust), then it will all end up the same color. I did one side at a time on this chest, making sure to cover it completely and using a cotton swab to get into all stubborn corners and cracks.

3. Do not attempt to go back over and touch up missed spots once the rust has already begun to dry. This will only leave you with obvious darker spots. Simply make sure to catch them on the second coat, and they always seem to blend in just fine.

4. Please note that the rust/tannin reaction only seems to take place on the surface of the wood. If you notice any areas that are now tea-stained but that you really wish weren't (I accidentally got a couple of spots on the inside of the cover), it's possible to gently sand these places down to the bare wood again later on. That's been my experience, anyway.

step 4

After the application of the first coat of rust, I found I was left with somewhat of a grayish hue, which I didn't love. However, the application of a second coat turned that gray into a lovely shade of brown—which I did love. Apply your second coat of rust water in the same way that you did your first. Let dry completely. Make sure to hit any spots previously missed on the first round.

The second coat of steel/vinegar solution has been applied and my piece turned into more of a lovely brown color.

step 5

This step hadn't been in my original plans, but a small problem became obvious after I'd painted on that first coat of the rusty solution. In all honesty, this actually felt like a really biiiig problem at the time because this was my daughter's chest, not mine! The filler used to fill the nail holes obviously didn't absorb the tea and so then didn't change color with the rest of the chest.

Ugh. Discolored spots everywhere!

Consequently, I was left with little, mismatched splotches over all four sides and, even worse, across the top. They weren't at all pleasing to look at, nor were they something I could just "accept." (Have I mentioned that I'm something of a perfectionist? My soaps can attest to this...) But thanks to this small, unforeseen—and slightly panic-inducing—problem, I ended up with a finished product that I adore!

To remedy my unsightly issue, out came the sandpaper. Sanding it quite heavily mostly "erased" those splotches, while at the same time, giving me a lovely rustic effect. Having no need to sand the inner panels, I left those untouched and the solid stain ended up being a really beautiful contrast.

A moderately heavy sanding did the trick! Ugly spots gone!

step 6

And now we're at the final and very satisfying step—a step that's almost as much fun for me as applying the rust solution is! The application of an eco-friendly varnish really makes the work we just did incredibly vibrant. For this project, I used one that I'd purchased (I use this company for all of my painting needs!), but I've also used a homemade, wax-based version in the past that's equally lovely. Either one will really make the stain pop and bring your piece to life. This finished chest benefited from three coats of eco-varnish.

(If you'd prefer to seal your project naturally, however, you can check out my all-natural wood finish!)

And that, my friends, is how we safely stain around here using this DIY all-natural wood stain. And I bet you thought tea was only for drinking... ;)

Have a super day!

Much love,

Melinda