· By Monisha Dajee
WOOL AND VINEGAR
We recently purchased an old, worn solid wooden carpenter's work table for a great price. I look forward to any refurbishing project if it involves using our homemade natural stain!
Our natural wood stain is made from steel wool and vinegar. This adds a much more realistic ageing to the wood compared with artificial stains.
After the stain soaks through, we add some linseed oil which further deepened the colour of the wood. After a couple days we will coat the table in beeswax for protection.
METHOD:
- Soak steel wool in a jar of 50% water
- Add 50%vinegar (for a blue hue use apple cider vinegar ) and seal up the jar.
- Allow steel wool to gradually rust and dissolve in the solution (2-3 weeks).
- Once the rusted solution is ready, mix well and paint onto the untreated wood. The aged look will gradually develop over a couple of days.
- You can add a couple of coats to increase the effect. Once happy with the effect you can seal the wood with a layer of linseed oil or a beeswax polish.
FINAL RESULT
PINCHING SOME PEARS
Thank you to our neighbour Emily for allowing us to pick a few pears! Crunchy and delicious!
Follow us on Instagram for more updates from our sanctuary! @thelondonalchemists
Moni Dajee, founder of The London Alchemists - artist, creator, explorer, beekeeper and avid practitioner of natural alchemy.
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