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I’m buying new deeps and was wondering what I can use to keep the natural wood look instead of painting.
How often do you have to re-do the boxes? When I used to use that on my deck, it was just about every year.I use Thompson's Waterseal and like it.
:scratch: I am a little confused, are we supposed to bleach or vinegar?2. Coat the outside of the box with a solution made from 1 gallon of white bleach and 2 unoiled 0000 steel wool pads. Allow the pads to soak in the vinegar for a week or so, and they'll disappear.)
OMG sorry everybody, this should have said white VINEGAR... Not sure how I screwed that up. This technique is sometimes called "ebonizing" since it turns things like white oak nearly black, but since pine has very little tannin, it just turns more brown instead of having a yellow tint like you get from BLO. The lye afterward gives it a more reddish tone like cedar, so I really like the look. I'll have to take a few pictures if anybody is interested. Because I am a hobbyist, I have more time to do such things than the people here with more meaningful experience:scratch: I am a little confused, are we supposed to bleach or vinegar?
I would LOVE a pic pleaseOMG sorry everybody, this should have said white VINEGAR... Not sure how I screwed that up. This technique is sometimes called "ebonizing" since it turns things like white oak nearly black, but since pine has very little tannin, it just turns more brown instead of having a yellow tint like you get from BLO. The lye afterward gives it a more reddish tone like cedar, so I really like the look. I'll have to take a few pictures if anybody is interested. Because I am a hobbyist, I have more time to do such things than the people here with more meaningful experience
BTW, using lye is an oxidizer, and has lots of interesting effects for some wood types. For instance, if you put lye on a piece of cherry, it'll look like 20 years of age coloration INSTANTLY. Just a fun experiment.
For topcoat, I use a water-based sealer from Ace Hardware that goes on a bit white, and dries clear. Mostly all soaks in, doesn't crack, water beads off, doesn't impart any color, it resists UV damage, and it's cheap. Seems like most of the benefits of stuff like Tung oil without the time to apply multiple coats, and it costs MUCH less.