When I am using aged, distressed or salvaged wood, I tend not to ‘mess around’ with it too much; a little light sanding here and there and perhaps use bees wax, linseed or danish oil. Artificially distressing, staining or painting found wood is not something I would naturally do.
I prepped up some wood that will eventaually will be made into book covers. This lovely wood was found on the beach at Budleigh and was probably part of a beach hut.
Although I love the texture and colour of the wood, it was in a sorry state. The decay was very spongy and flaky, so I had to improve its structural integrity. I had a few options; I could have used a wood rot preservative (manufactured especially for this purpose), that penetrates and hardens the wood- but I do question how enviromentally friendly these sorts of products are. I decided not to go down this route and Instead I diluted wood glue 50:50 with water and gradually built up the layers and letting it dry in between each application. (I applied about 5 coats)
I am very happy with the result- the wood now feels very strong.
I cut the covers to size and and as result the exposed edges looked very fresh and new. I think in this instance I wanted the edges to blend in naturally with the rest of the piece.
I had various options-I could;
use artificial stains
use shellac and natural pigments
ebonise the wood by oxidizing the wood
I decided to ebonize the wood. Iron staining, or ebonizing, generally uses a reaction between iron oxide and the natural tannins in wood (or introduced tannins soaked into the wood beforehand such as strong tea, or tannins extracted from crushed acorns or oak bark)-to create a natural-looking black or dark grey that is actually created in the fibres of the wood rather than a stain sitting on top. This is why it is so durable. It is integral, not superficial.
To make the iron acetate you will need to fill half a jam jar with iron nails or screws or other iron hardware. Fill almost to the top with distilled vinegar or other pale vinegar (I have used cider vinegar). I would perhaps avoid malt vinegar as this may be too dark. Leave for at least 3 weeks I would cover the jam jar with cling film and do not tighten the lid too tightly.
When you are ready to ebonize the wood of your choice please use protective gloves as it will stain, also use a mask as iron acetate is not the nicest chemical to smell!
Make a strong brew of one tea bag per 200ml and leave for at least 10 minutes.
With a sponge or brush soak the surface with the strong tea and then pat dry. With a separate brush or sponge, brush on the iron acetate and then watch the magic happen! The stain will darken before your very eyes as the iron acetate reacts with the tannin. You may need to experiment with a scrap piece of wood beforehand to ascertain how dark the end result will be.
Enjoy
I hope you agree with me that the edges of wood fit in quite nicely.
