How to Create the Weathered Barn Wood look with New Wood

If you had the choice would you rather use weathered barn wood boards or new boards for a home project? How about new boards with the weathered look! That’s the best of both worlds right? The weathered wood look is in, and I can’t wait to show you how to make new wood look like old barn wood.

It’s interesting to me to see how trends change. Growing up the home trends seemed to be all about new homes and new decor. Lately (as in the last 10 years) the home trends are moving more towards “antique, aged and restored.”

I do love a new home (especially that new home smell!) but you don’t get that authentic character that you see in an older home.

That’s why this weathered wood technique is so great; you get the best of both worlds. As a matter of fact, recently I shared a weathered wood look on a smooth piece of faux wood (it was actually laminate). All that to say, it’s so easy to find a way to create that aged look to new wood or even faux wood!

A little disclaimer; this technique works best with wood that has a prominent wood grain. It doesn’t matter what type of wood (I’m using a scrap piece of deck wood for this project), just as long as it has a nice wood grain. The heavier the wood grain, the better the “weathered look” will show up. Oak wood is particularly good for this.

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Another disclaimer; I’m using joint compound for this project, but you can also use plaster of paris.

The picture below is the new wood (scrap piece of deck wood) before this awesome aged treatment has been applied. This was a scrap piece of wood we had in the garage. Sometimes scraps make the best project pieces!

Let’s make this new wood look old again with joint compound!

Since this post was written I’ve received a lot of questions about applying this weathered wood technique to a treated piece of lumber. Does it work? Can this technique hold up outside? I’ll answer this questions at the end of the post.

I’m no stranger to making new things look old with joint compound. A while ago I transformed a new terra cotta pot and gave it an aged patina look with joint compound.

I love the texture it adds to a simple plastic or clay pot.

Fast forward a few years and here I am with a joint compound project idea; this time it involves a scrap piece of wood!

Materials needed to make new wood look aged:

1. Wood
2. Wood stain
3. Staining rag or brush
4. Putty knives
5. Joint compound
6. Paper towels

How to make new wood look like old barn wood

• Stain the wood and let it dry completely
• Apply a large amount of joint compound in the direction of the wood grain with a putty knife or a regular knife
• Use the putty knife to “rake” most of the excess joint compound off of the wood. Rake in the direction of the wood grain.
• Once the majority of the excess joint compound has been removed, use a paper towel or lint free cloth to wipe the wood down.
• You can use a wet cloth to remove as much as you want until you get the desired look
• Wait at least an hour to let the wood dry
• Repeat the steps to get the desired finish if the first finish wasn’t “aged” enough

To stain this piece of scrap wood I used a Minwax weathered Oak stain.

I won’t go into details about how to stain or dye wood. You can refer to my post I created about using wood stain vs. wood dye. Or you might be interested in a post on staining wood with household items.

Below is what the wood looked like while scraping a few layers of joint compound off of it.

You can see how the joint compound is starting to make the wood look weathered. I’m loving it so far!

Pictured above is what the wood looked like after about ten minutes of removing the excess joint compound.

Below is the wood after about an hour that I removed the joint compound.

I love my “new weathered wood” now.

Does this weathered wood technique work for treated wood or outdoor wood furniture?

Being that I used a piece of deck wood (treated wood) for this project, I would say yes! If I were going to apply this weathered wood technique to something that would stay outside permanently, I would apply a sealer to it.

My biggest piece of advice when applying any paint, stain or treatment to treated wood…MAKE SURE IT’S COMPLETELY DRY before applying any finish to it. Trust me, you don’t want to make this mistake.

The Home Depot says “To determine if pressure treated wood is dry enough to stain, try the “sprinkle” test. Sprinkle water on the wood: if the wood absorbs it within 10 minutes, plan to stain as soon as possible. If the water beads or pools on the wood surface, the wood needs more time to dry.”

This wood project was so much fun because it didn’t cost me a dime or take much time at all!

Now I’ve got to find a piece of furniture or accent wall that I can apply this aged wood technique to. Wish me luck!

I hope I’ve created a simple and easy to follow tutorial. As always, let me know if you have any questions.

Thanks for stopping by!

Lindsey**