How to Make Your Own All-Natural Wood Stain

Looking to do some wood staining on a budget? Here is an inexpensive and easy way of using ingredients you probably already have lying around the kitchen. Learn how to make your own all-natural wood stain in this video by P. Allen Smith:

1. Start with a quart jar.

2. Take half a cup of used coffee grounds and empty it into the jar.

3. Cut a steel wool pad into smaller pieces. If the pad contains soap, make sure to wash out the soap first. Take the steel wool pieces and drop them into the jar.

4. Add white vinegar to the jar, filling it up to the top. This creates a chemical reaction that yields a color that has a nice natural look. Using balsamic vinegar will give it a slightly greener look.

5. Seal the jar and wait one day. If you wait two days, your stain will be slightly darker.

6. When you’re ready to stain your wood, take a piece of the steel wool from the jar and apply it across the plane of the wood, making sure that it’s fully saturated. NOTE: This technique comes in really handy if you have to replace wood from a fence or deck that has a weathered silvery gray look. Treating the new wood panel or board with this stain allows it to blend in with the others and saves you the cost of having to replace the entire fence or deck.

7. Let the wood dry. You may want to apply another coat. It takes about 30 minutes for the chemical reaction to occur.