DIY Grey Weathered Wood Stain

Monica Perera
by Monica Perera
6 Materials
$30
4 Hours
Easy
Hello Everyone! I am excited but also nervous because these type of DIY's aren't really my specialty and I wasn't sure whether I would botch this table or not. After moving out of my moms I was really excited to decorate my own place BUT I was also not trying to break the bank! So I decided to up-cycle this old table she had. If you would like to either do this on your own or just see what I did to transform this ugly table into rustic glam you can watch this video below OR follow step-by-step instructions below that.


Here is the video tutorial! Let me know in the comments how much you love it and don't forget to give it a thumbs up and a share!
Steel Wool & Vineagar Mix
I started by sanding the table , I used regular old sand paper because I obviously don't usually do these types of things and don't own an electric sander but I would definitely recommend using one. And then I wiped it clean with a wet rag just to get all the dust off.
Before I went in with the first coat I laid out a tarp because things were going to get messy. After that, I proceeded to do the first coat which is the homemade steel wool and vinegar mix, be sure to wear gloves while doing so! You can either use a brush or a rag but I used a rag because that is what I used with all the coats. I would dip my rag in the jar and wipe the table like so. What this does is age your wood so that it looks older and darker faster.
This is what the table looks like after the first coat. See how it looks a bit more older? Now some areas of the table did age a bit faster than others so I just went back in and added more mixture in those areas.
Texas Leather
Next I went in with the Benjamin Moore Texas Leather paint and mixed it with some water in a cup. One part water, two parts paint. I then grabbed a new rag and dipped in in the cup and wiped the table until it was dry. I only did the top of my table because I am going to be painting the legs of the table white. Feel free to cover your entire table if you'd like.
This is what the table looked like after the Texas leather shade.
White
Next, I took the Behr White and also mixed it with water as well as used a rag but for this one I did more random strokes. After adding random stokes I began to buff them out with my rag.
This is what it looked like when I was finished buffing out all out.
Next I went back in with the Texas Leather and barely dipped my rag in so I can just use the excess paint on the rag to add a gray stoke effect.
This is how it looked after.
Revere Pewter
Now for this step I used the Benjamin Moore Revere Pewter shade, added it to some water as well and then took a small paint brush to add some paint into the cracks of the table. If you don't have any cracks just add random lines as if you did, like so. Then take your rag and buff it all out.
This is how the table looked after we buffed it out! Feel free to stop here if you like the this look! I however felt like the table was too light! So I went back in with the Texas Leather one last time!
Lastly, I would recommend you top your table off with a clear coat. I used the Decoart Clear Soft-Touch Varnish. This is how my table looked after all the coats.
This is the finished look, like I mentioned before I painted the bottom of the table white. You can do the same, use another color or paint your entire table gray.
I added some glam pieces like the mirror plate, white flowers and studded chairs just to give it a rustic glam feel. I hope you all have enjoyed this tutorial and wish you all the best with your projects!
Suggested materials:
  • Sand Paper (100 Grit)   (Walmart)
  • Steel Wool & Vinegar Mix   (Homemade)
  • Benjamin Moore Texas Leather (SAMPLE)   (Lowe's)
See all materials
Frequently asked questions
Have a question about this project?
3 of 5 questions
  • Eroque022810 Eroque022810 on Jun 27, 2017

    What is the steel ,vinegar mix?

  • Mebellucci Mebellucci on Jun 28, 2017

    I don't understand why you did the aging technique just to cover it up with the painting technique

  • Christina Christina on Jul 27, 2017

    Love the look! Perfect with those chairs.

    One question - what is the purpose of the steel wool and vinegar? Does it add texture?

Comments
Join the conversation
2 of 66 comments
  • Nurseone Nurseone on May 06, 2018

    love this look

  • Entirelab Entirelab on Jan 29, 2020

    Hello Monica, Great to see your wood stain works that's really inspirational because the transformation of table really nice. Hope in next you will give more tips about wood color related tips. I have also a blog entirelab where I try to write about wood related articles and your article have helped me to write more.

Next