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My Vintage Porch

Interior Design, DIY, and Refurbishing

How To Get A Light Rustic Wood Color Finish

Filed Under: Crafts & Projects, DIY, Furniture Refurbishing, Home Decor Tagged With: bleached table, butcher block table, light wood finish, raw wood, rustic wood finish, stain, stained table, stained wood, white wash and glazed table, white washed, wood table

Another project! I always love a good project and couldn’t pass this up when I found it on our local Marketplace site. It’s solid wood which is great for me when I don’t know what color I’m going to be staining it, then I can sand it back down 50,000 times. Not what I intended, but sometimes that’s the way it turns out. I actually only completely sanded this one down twice…that’s a step in the right direction, compared to some of my past projects. The photo below is how it was when I picked it up…very dirty, yellowy and orangey looking. (Affiliate links are used in this post)

I knew I wanted to sand it down just by seeing the photos of it that the seller had posted. I do love all of the beat up and used marks all over in it! I love a good rustic old looking wood table!

I sanded it all down with 60 grit sandpaper with my new hand sander, which I am totally in love with, by the way. If you are looking for a hand sander, I highly recommend this one! I finished it off by smoothing it out with my hand sander and 150 grit sandpaper. I did like the natural wood look of it, but trust me, it looked a whole lot yellowey’er than the photo is showing. Yes, yellowey’er IS a word?

My initial thought when getting the table was to stain it a warmer brown color. I started by mixing weathered oak and early american stain…ahhhhhhh!!!! It was way too grey and a lot darker than I had desired!

Back to the sanding block I go…I sanded the whole darn thing to bare wood, again! I thought this time I would try to bleach it. I wiped straight household bleach on it (2 coats) and it was beautiful…out in the sun! When I took the table inside, it still had a yellowy hue when the lights were turned on and it wasn’t vibing in the space that I wanted it for.

I had done a certain technique that I had loved in the past and thought I would try it out on the table. It’s the same technique that I used on this large drawer cabinet. It’s super easy, but can only be used on raw wood or sanded down wood. Since I had already sanded the table down, it was perfect for it!

It’s basically a three step process…sand to bare wood, apply white wash and let dry, and then apply glaze. I love the lighter rustic wood color that it gives to the wood!

  1. White wash (with lint free cloth)…try to get into all of the grooves and let it sink into the wood. I’ve noticed that this white wash can be tough to find…I actually found mine at my local ACE hardware, but here is a photo of it online.

2. Glaze (with lint free cloth, over dried white wash)…the glaze, I have only been able to find at Home Depot.

Below is an outdoor photo, with no brightening or filters, of what the difference is with this technique. The top board is plain pine, the middle board is pine white washed, and the board on the bottom is pine, white washed and then glazed on top.

And, that’s it!!! I love how it turned out! At first, I was unsure because it does give a streaky look in some areas, but once I had the whole table done, I was IN LOVE with it! At midpoint of having it done, I almost took it back outside and sanded it down but my hubs begged me not to because he loved it so much. I’m glad I listened to him…for once, haha.

It’s tough to get good photos of it with the lighting and all of the character, the bottom half is showing a little darker than it actually is.

An old, beat up, rustic table look is what I wanted and I’m super pleased with the way it turned out!

You can see the unevenness of the color a little better here. I think part of that is because of the type of table it is, but part of it is because of the technique too. I’m sure the color would be slightly different on different types of wood too…this is pine, I believe.

Again, here the bottom looks darker than it really is…

The photo below gives a better representation of the coloring on the bottom, than in the previous photos. Chester loves it too!

I would love to hear what you think of my grubby table, turned rustic! Thanks for following along on IG stories (@vintageporch)…I just love hanging out with you all!!!!!

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. SUSAN says

    January 11, 2021 at 7:07 pm

    It’s adorable!!!

    • My Vintage Porch says

      January 15, 2021 at 1:27 pm

      Thank you, Susan!

  2. Tannis says

    January 11, 2021 at 8:16 pm

    I’ve been following you on this table journey because I’m currently on a very similar journey. My question is, do you need to put any other seal on it to protect the table? I’m planning on using my table for everyday
    The table looks really good!!

    • Jennifer Hauber says

      January 12, 2021 at 10:10 am

      I was just going to ask the same question as I have a table I would love to do this to but it would be in my kitchen for every day use as well.

      • My Vintage Porch says

        January 15, 2021 at 1:31 pm

        yes, I will eventually seal the top and sides at least with water based poly

    • My Vintage Porch says

      January 15, 2021 at 1:28 pm

      Hi Tannis! I will probably seal the top and sides with water based poly. I would recommend something like that if you want it to be wipeable. I get lazy when I get the look that I want and I stop one step too early sometimes, haha

      • Jennifer hauber says

        February 8, 2021 at 11:28 am

        Would you use satin or matte with this look? Love your work!!! ♥️

  3. Alina says

    January 11, 2021 at 8:27 pm

    I absolutely love this table and what you have done with it! Great job!!

    • My Vintage Porch says

      January 15, 2021 at 1:28 pm

      Thank you so much, Alina!

  4. Linda says

    January 12, 2021 at 6:10 am

    I love it, thanks for all the information on how to do this!

    • My Vintage Porch says

      January 15, 2021 at 1:28 pm

      Thank you Linda! I love this look so much and how easy it is

  5. Bev says

    January 12, 2021 at 6:45 am

    Love it ????

    • My Vintage Porch says

      January 15, 2021 at 1:28 pm

      Thank you, Bev!

  6. Deborah says

    January 12, 2021 at 8:02 am

    Wow! You turned that table into a beauty. I bought the wax after you blogged about it with the cabinet. Do you wipe it off after putting it on. It seems so dark compared to your project. Thanks for all the good advice. You are quite talented.

    • My Vintage Porch says

      January 15, 2021 at 1:29 pm

      Oh Awesome! Yes, the white wash needs to come first, that’s what gives it the lighter look…then the glaze after

  7. Cheryl Atkinson says

    January 12, 2021 at 8:31 am

    I love love love this table. The only thing I need is your affiliate links or just the kind of sander you are talking about, unless it’s the surf prep. That one is way out of my bed get range. You do such an awesome job on wood and love your flower arranging too. Keep up the good work girlfriend.

    • Cheryl Atkinson says

      January 12, 2021 at 8:32 am

      Not bed range what does that even mean?? Budget is what I meant to type

    • My Vintage Porch says

      January 15, 2021 at 1:30 pm

      Hi Cheryl! Thank you so much! This is the sander that I use, is that what you are referring to? https://rstyle.me/+35Uq2A4ejD1YomaMxdiifA

  8. Cindy@CountyRoad407 says

    January 12, 2021 at 9:31 am

    Wowza, that is fantastic. The perfect combo.

    • My Vintage Porch says

      January 15, 2021 at 1:30 pm

      Thank you so much, Cindy! I love the lighter wood look it gives!

  9. Donna says

    January 12, 2021 at 1:57 pm

    It looks great!

    • My Vintage Porch says

      January 15, 2021 at 1:20 pm

      Thank you, Donna!

  10. Lisa Howard says

    February 6, 2021 at 5:14 am

    I love your Blog and insta post! What color glaze did you use? I can’t seem to find it. Thanks, lisa x

  11. BonnieYoung says

    February 8, 2021 at 3:46 pm

    What glaze is it that you use on the table that you got at home depot? I want to do this. I did a big table which did not turn out the way I wanted and you got the look I want. Ready to redo

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