223 – Aging Wood with Baking Soda

Video - July 10, 2014

While you are probably familiar with the pigment and dye-based stains available on the market, you might not be aware of a whole other class of stains known as chemical stains. Instead of depositing color particles on the wood, these stains create color via a chemical reaction within the wood itself. The effects can range from mild to dramatic depending on the wood species and chemical used.

Woods contain a molecule known as tannins and some species have more tannins than others. The more tannins, the greater potential for color change. Woods like mahogany and cherry are great candidates for chemical staining with baking soda but a wood like maple doesn’t have much change, as you’ll see in the video.

The baking soda mixture is simple: 1 Tablespoon of baking soda in 1 cup of water (distilled if possible). Paint the material on the wood and let it dry. Keep in mind that the water will raise the grain so it’s a good idea to pre-raise the grain prior to using the baking soda.

Discussion

Derek Warmack July 10, 2014 12:43 pm

There is a random name/description bar that shows up at the bottom around 2:07. Just FYI.

Thanks for the video!

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- Marc Spagnuolo July 10, 2014 1:01 pm
  
  Yup, and it’s staying there too. :)
  
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  - Marc Spagnuolo July 10, 2014 1:21 pm
    
    OK I lied. I fixed it. :)
    
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  - Jeff July 10, 2014 1:24 pm
    
    Nice B2tF reference.
    
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    - Mark Loughran July 11, 2014 4:17 am
      
      So just to check, these chemical techniques help fast forward ‘back to the future’. LOL
      
      Great video Marc!!!
    - Marc Spagnuolo July 11, 2014 5:06 am
      
      Precisely! Great Scott!
Alexey July 10, 2014 1:59 pm

Hi Marc,

If the chemical stain is a “fast forward”, wouldn’t the colors differences between the two pieces of chemically stained cherry you showed also come out as cherry is exposed to sunlight over time? I am considering chemically staining a cherry project myself in a room that will be poorly lit, and I never understood what the difference between chemical stain and sunlight is .

Thanks in advance.

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- Marc Spagnuolo July 10, 2014 2:22 pm
  
  There might be some difference, but ultimately it’s the same effect. The video does show a sun-tanned version next to a baking soda version. You can see they are pretty darn close. Personally, I don’t feel the need to use this type of stain because within a year the cherry will look nice and dark. I’m in no rush.
  
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Lero July 10, 2014 3:52 pm

I love the unpredictability of chemical reactions. Also It does not create as much of a layer on the material as lacquers or stains do. One of the effects I like most is iron oxide on oak. Soak some steel wool in vinegar overnight. Filter the solution and apply on the wood. The first layer gives a blue/black color. A second layer a more brown/black.

Example
http://goo.gl/aDwhx0

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Fiddler July 10, 2014 4:05 pm

I once used some drain cleaner and sunshine when I was repairing/refinishing an old mahogony table. My question to you Marc is after sanding the raised grain how much of the aged effect is left?

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- Marc Spagnuolo July 10, 2014 7:54 pm
  
  All of it, because you should be pre-raising before adding the baking soda. :) No need to sand until after the finish is on.
  
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Phil Spencer July 10, 2014 4:14 pm

There is another method to get an ebonising effect, mix iron filings or washed steel wool with vinegar. It will react with the tannins and turn a nice blue black, if there is not enough tannin in the wood painting the wood with black tea works well.

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Colby July 10, 2014 4:58 pm

I love these kind of short tip videos! Keep them coming please!!

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Andrew Krause July 10, 2014 7:48 pm

I lol’d when you got to the part about putting the baking soda back in the kitchen. I remember watching some of your older videos where you were mixing up epoxy or blending finishes, and it was usually in a reusable food container. I always wondered if you got in trouble when Nicole saw the video or not.

Dixie cups save lives…

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- Marc Spagnuolo July 10, 2014 7:53 pm
  
  I have since switched to Dixie cups for that very reason, lol.
  
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Jerry Cartwright July 12, 2014 11:33 am

That mahogany reminded me of red cedar somewhat. I just finished a cedar chest that I made for my wife and actually wanted to get those reds, whites and maybe even some purples but I was kinda disappointed when it looked more like stained pine to me. Anyways, my wife was tickled with it and said it was beautiful. That’s all that matters in the end. Right??

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Indy Mike July 12, 2014 12:40 pm

Has any one tried this on poplar? I have been looking for something to speed up the aging process with poplar that turns the greens to brown.

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- Marc Spagnuolo July 12, 2014 5:12 pm
  
  My guess is it won’t work so well on Poplar. At least there won’t be the dramatic effect you see in some other woods. If it doesn’t change color on its own with time, it probably won’t do much with this process.
  
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Kevin Mello July 16, 2014 1:23 pm

Marc, do you rinse the baking soda off before finishing? I was wondering if there would be a residue left on the board

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- Marc Spagnuolo July 16, 2014 1:54 pm
  
  I just wiped mine down with a damp rag. Didn’t seem to cause any issues on my test boards but probably warrants a little more investigating before committing an entire project.
  
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steve a. July 18, 2014 8:52 pm

have you ever tried darkening cherry in the sun first and then apply the finish.
will this cause finish problems?
just curious if any one has tried this to speed along the aging look of the wood?

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- Marc Spagnuolo July 19, 2014 5:49 am
  
  I do that all the time. Works very well. Just be aware that an unfinished piece might not be so happy out in the hot sun for long periods of time. So it’s not a bad idea to apply some finish to the wood first, then place it outside.
  
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John July 19, 2014 5:33 pm

FYI, I just tried this on jatoba and purpleheart. Did not notice much of a difference in the jatoba, perhaps a slight darkening. The real change was on the purpleheart, it turned green! Glad I did a test run before applying to any projects!

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- Marc Spagnuolo July 20, 2014 8:01 am
  
  lol hooray for test boards!
  
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G8R Novice July 30, 2014 6:22 am

Your videos really do rock. I’m impressed by your talent in woodworking, but equally so in your talent for communicating often complex processes.

Keep it up, you rock Marc!

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marc s November 25, 2014 5:42 am

Any tips on slightly ageing this box but try and keep its character and not by go silvery etc

Want to keep much the same just a slight better worn effect but the wood is also different on top
http://i.ebayimg.com/00/s/MTYw.....J/$_57.JPG

Thanks

Great vida

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- marc s November 25, 2014 11:20 am
  
  Maybe a tea stain or similar
  
  A light aged look is what I’m looking for, unsure if your method would go too dark?
  
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Doug P January 9, 2015 1:49 pm

I had a small piece of cherry I wanted to age. Normally I add S/S to vinegar wait 24 then paint it on. Looks good. This time I started this and I put the vinegar in a jar then I noticed several pods of S/S that I have used maybe 1/2 of setting on the shelf so I added them waited my 24 – painted- come back in a couple hours and WOW dark — really dark. between
really dark and really really dark. It never happened like this before. What happened ?

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Iqbal19 January 26, 2015 10:35 am

I was looking for an Eco safe treatment for the wood that I used to build vegetable garden beds. Found Eco Safe wood treatment on Amazon made by Tallearth. Going on two years now and the beds look brand new! I used Douglas fir, while cheap is usually not recommended for the outdoors. However, the wood turned an olive brown color, which is pretty and looks aged. The treatment somehow also protects the wood from rot and fungus because it still looks new after two years in all seasons. The stain effect and color apparently varies on the different types of wood due to the tannin and sugar content. Cedar turns an olive green while Oak turns blue!
Thank you for the opportunity to share my experience.

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Sam February 18, 2015 2:41 pm

Great stuff mark. I am a floor guy by trade and I tried this method on a recent job. I love your videos

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Linda Cross May 24, 2015 11:22 am

This is for the previous post (tallearth product , used it for two years now? No ones ever heard of this product , it looks like it was started up last year sometime,( sounds like a spam comment.)

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Meg August 8, 2015 10:48 pm

Been trying all sorts of stain combinations to take down some of the pink in red oak flooring, without going to a dark stain. The results have not been satisfying. I have a mid-century modern house with red oak floors throughout. Then I tried the baking soda on a piece of red oak flooring and it looks like it got the red out; kind of looks like white oak. Anyone else tried this solution on red oak?

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kelly September 10, 2015 5:13 am

Help. I used baking soda paste to try and raise some oil stains on my live edge walnut table with a lightly oiled finish. I sanded the table top first. I left the paste for an hour and when I wiped it off, I have large black stains. Any idea how to get the black stains out short of a huge sanding job on my ten foot table?

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- Robert February 4, 2016 5:23 pm
  
  Chlorine bleach should pull all of the unnatural color out of the wood and leave the wood in its original color. Test in an inconspicuous location. I usually use the bleach you get from the pool companies. As its chlorine content is much higher than bleach used for laundry.
  
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Ian September 17, 2015 6:03 pm

I saw your video and used this method on a coffee table I but out of Black Locust.

It stained it to a beautiful chocolate brown. I then finished it with Minwax rub on Poly. The only thing is ….it has been a year and the wood has lightened almost back to its original color? Any thoughts??

PS love your site and video’s!

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Jeff February 16, 2016 7:01 pm

Hey mark,
Wondering if the vinegar and steel wool is a food safe option for darkening cutting boards?

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- Marc Spagnuolo February 18, 2016 11:49 am
  
  Honestly not sure. But I generally advise against trying to color wood when it comes to food contact. Just a safer bet in my opinion.
  
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Tony Baummer April 9, 2016 4:25 am

I am staining white oak with a baking soda solution. Why is the wood turning a pinkish color. I have done this before and the wood did not do this

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Candie July 13, 2016 4:09 pm

I had a kitchen nightmare with some baking soda which gave a dark stain similar to the mahogany. What are my best options to reverse this, i live in a rental property and im dreading not being able to fix it!

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Roy Lindberry December 10, 2017 9:26 am

Do you know if the baking soda could be suspended in boiled linseed oil or some other oil? Since BLO is generally my first finishing step, mixing it in might also eliminate the need for raising the grain and sanding (I hate sanding a well planed/scraped surface).

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Janice Avery January 5, 2018 9:33 am

I am planning to use your method or a vinegar/steel wool method to stain boards for a weathered look ceiling. After the stain dries what do you use to seal the boards?

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Nate March 15, 2019 6:04 am

I am trying to age straight grain Douglas fur. I’m trying to get the reddish look that the sun aged wood has. Any tips for something like this. The home is from 1920 and there is a ton of this old wood in the house. The problem I have is the new wood which we are using always pushes the darker grain to the surface an takes away from the reddish aged look. What can I do.

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Dorothy Saxer September 15, 2019 3:04 pm

I am trying to get rid of the orange hue on an antique table I just stained with minwax special walnut. What would you suggest. The stain is already dry. I want a more medium brown color.

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- Marc Spagnuolo September 16, 2019 7:30 pm
  
  You might just try another coat of brown stain. It might tone down the orange to some extent.
  
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John July 12, 2020 3:08 am

I have tried this on a pine floor but do not like the colour as it is too yellow, rather than honey which was what I was after. Is there a way of reversing the process please?

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- Marc Spagnuolo July 12, 2020 6:49 pm
  
  Not that I know of. But it should be removable with a light sanding.
  
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223 – Aging Wood with Baking Soda

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