One of the recent hurricanes or storms damaged your fence. Or maybe some of the boards rotted. Or maybe termites made a meal out of your fence and you had to replace a portion of it with new wood. The new boards stand out like a sore thumb because they're brand new and not weathered yet. There's an easy way to make those new fence boards look almost identical to those old boards in about two days.

What You'll Need

  • 0000 Steel Wool (or nongalvanized nails but steel wool works best)
  • White Vinegar

Instructions (Cedar Boards)

  1. Put the steel wool in the white vinegar for a few hours or a few days. The longer you let it steep, the darker the solution will be. Keep in mind you may have to adjust the amount of steel wool you use and you will have to keep an eye on the solution to make sure the color is right. Once the solution is about the right color, remove the steel wool. Again, you may also use nongalvanized nails, but 0000 steel wool works best.
  2. Use a paintbrush to apply the solution to the new fence boards.

Instructions (Pine Boards)

  1. Before applying the above mixture, coat pine boards with black tea. Simply steep 2 black tea bags for each cup of boiled water for 5 minutes. Coat pine boards with the black tea solution before you apply the steel wool and vinegar solution above. Allow the black tea solution to dry completely before applying the steel wool and vinegar solution.
  2. Use a paintbrush to apply solutions to the new fence boards.

Premade Solution

If you aren't sure about the homemade wood aging solution, you can take the guesswork out of it by using a premade wood ager. According to familyhandyman.com, one of the best-premade wood agers is Benjamin Moore Arborcoat. Many manufacturers make wood aging solutions but the outlet says Benjamin Moore Arborcoat, "it's made for exterior use and it is stinky until it dries, but it gives a beautiful silvery sheen to both cedar and pine. The results are fast and predictable which is a real plus if you don't like surprises."

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