Turning fence posts into faux reclaimed wood aka weathered wood.
If I were an antiquarian, I would have eyes only for old stuff, but I am a historian. Therefore, I love life. -Henri Pirenne
UPDATE: When I first wrote this post, I used the term reclaimed wood loosely. This is a tutorial on how to turn new wood, like on fence posts, into older looking (weathered) wood. Enjoy.
I truly love old stuff. Stuff that has meaning and history behind it. Items that are unique and rustic and interesting.
I love vintage picnic tins, and rolling pins, and old aprons.
Old books, soda crates, and jadeite dishware are my jam.
Sometimes old stuff can be easy to come by and then it becomes popular and that means $$$.
Table of Contents
RECLAIMED WOOD OPTIONS
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We make no apologies for loving RECLAIMED WOOD! You can see 6 of our reclaimed wood projects HERE.
But obviously, at times it can get hard to come by.
What’s a Salvage Sister and a Mister to do?
We looked into a peel and stick method, which has great reviews, however, the price was not in our budget.
If the reclaimed wood doesn’t come to you, you go to the reclaimed wood aka you make it yourself.
FAUX RECLAIMED WOOD SUPPLIES
- At your local hardware shop, we purchased 1 x 6 cedar fence posts 5 ft long. Cost $1.74 each …BARGAIN ALERT!!!
- We found the Minwax stains we used with our partner Amazon… HERE and HERE, or use any colors that you like.
- Old t-shirt or rags
FAUX WOOD INSTRUCTIONS
- Let the wood dry out approx 24-48 hours.
- Stain the fence posts using an old rag or t-shirt, following instructions on can.. *Don’t forget to stain in a well-ventilated area.
- I alternated between applying the two stains with no real pattern as we wanted the wood to all be different. The stains were not mixed together. They were used independently.
FAUX RECLAIMED WOOD COST/INFORMATION
For just about $50 we have around 40 sq. ft. of DIY reclaimed wood.
- The stain was approx $8-10 a can.
- After approx. 20 boards- 3/4 can of the weathered oak and 1/4 classic gray was used. Only one side plus one end and bottom edge were stained since we will be doing a wall. You will use more stain if you need to do both sides on the wood for your project.
- It took about one to two hours to complete all the boards.
|WANNA SEE WHAT WE DID WITH OURS? HERE IS OUR FAUX RECLAIMED WOOD WALL|
MORE “SALVAGED” PROJECTS
We try to make the most with what we have and hope you will be inspired in the process. Here are a few more projects we thin you will enjoy:
Thanks for stopping by today. Our goal is to help make the most with whatever you have by sharing budget-friendly, time-saving, and reusing/DIY ideas for all parts of your home and life. If you enjoyed this DIY faux reclaimed wood tutorial, we would appreciate a share on any social media: Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest. Plus, don’t forget to follow us as we share even more ideas on each account.
Great project, and the idea of making signs is right up my alley! Thanks for the periscope this morning LOVED! Will use these and my Cricut Explore to make signs for sure!
That’s great Linda! Please share (or tag) when you do one!!!
Great idea!!!
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Some of the reclaimed stuff is expensive!!! I try to find it free when I can (you know me) 🙂
I am getting ready to do my first DIY project with this type of wood! I’m nervous since its a big important one, but hey, go big right!! My husband is a builder so getting it done is up our alley. However, his specialty is new modern homes and hasn’t done this technique. I want to redo our kitchen countertops in this style. Any tips for finished surface to be cleanable, wipeable? I know some clear top coats can leave a white mark with even a bit spoon set on it from stirring coffee. So I want to do this but need finished wood to be durable for kitchen use, we have a large family with kids so it will get a Lot of use!
Marci,
You can check out our afraid to paint kitchen cabinet post for tips on that. We did ours and have had no real problems at all. I would suggest trying a back of a cabinet door first to get a feel. But if all else fails, you can strip and start all over (we had to do that once..not fun, almost everything can be fixed though)
Wow, that is definitely NOT reclaimed wood. Please don’t fool people like this.
Joe, This is NOT to fool people. Reclaimed wood in our area is very expensive. Since the only way to get reclaimed wood is to buy it no one would ever come to a DIY project and expect to see DIY “Reclaimed” wood tutorial – Go to the store and buy it.
This is an alternative CHOICE. If it’s not for you, totally good with that. Please be kind on this page though. We understand that not everyone will like what we do, but kindness is always a good way to go to get your point across.
Hi there
Thank you very much for posting the tutorial. It was very helpful as I can attest that reclaimed wood is often exspensive. My only question was the 3/4 to 1/4 stain ratio that you mentioned. Did you mean that you mix the two stains together initially or you apply them separately onto the wood?
Thank you
Ezra recently posted…Craft Junk Giveaway – January 2018
Ezra, I did apply the stains in separately.
Wow, I have a few spaces in my home that I would love to use reclaimed wood. I love the weathered look you did here.
Ivory recently posted…Bloggers Share Their Top Upcycle Projects of 2017
so did you mix the 2 stains together or did you just alternate boards? the 3/4 and 1/4 threw me off.
Hi Lance, I am so sorry for the confusion. I just did one stain and immediately did another stain on top. Hope that helps.
Hey
Were you using the wood indoors and if so did you treat it for wood worm? I’ve been looking into using rough sawn fence wood inside and concerned about wood worm and whether I’d need to treat it.
Great article it’s exactly what I’m looking to achieve as alternative to pallets.
Thanks
We used it on a wall and have had no issues
I love this, BUt I Iam sorry to ask this again, but did you layer the stains on top of each other on each board or are they stained one gray one oak? If you layered did you stain the entire board with both colors or justkind of paint it on on different sections of the wood. Also did you wipe off or just let the min wax soak in. Thanks!!
Not a problem at all. I just opened both cans and dipped the scrap cloth in a little of each. Does that help?
I love your method! It really looks like reclaimed wood! Ignore the post on this isn’t reclaimed lumber if we all could afford reclaimed wood we wouldn’t be searching for a method to making wood look like it. Your method is by far the best one I’ve tried. Thank you so much for sharing ❤️
Thank you Debi.
Hi! We did this technique in our bar and now want to do it to an outside wall around our hot tub. I only used one stain color in the bar and am intrigued with the two layers of stain. My question is what two stain colors did you use? Thank you!
Hi Judith, in the post under “faux reclaimed wood supplies” I posted links to the colors we used.