how 2 turn a cedar carving grey(wheathered)

[Butch_Speer]

Don't know if it will help but, I'ved used bleach on osage. It will turn it brown. Lye will do the same thing.

[dsw39]

thanks again for the replys. I tryed the vin\steel wool on the weekend and I got varied degrees of black, darker farther into the wood. So not what I am looking for but was interesting trying. the steel wool and vinager solution stays clear ,takes several hours to take effect. if you are looking for a interesting black give it a try.

[whitecree]

You could always do it the hard way. Leave it out in the sun for a few months, and I'll guarantee you it will go gray.

[Learning2CarveDaily]

I'm not a carver yet, but I have routed signs using cedar. I use undilluted household bleach to give it a nice weathered look. It will pull out some fuzzies though, so try it on a scrap piece first.

[dsw39]

news on the vinager and steel wool mix. Several months have passed and I found the mix again. It is now dark in color and all the steel wool has disolved. So then I tryed it again and the result is not grey like I wanted but a very beautiful golden oak color. I will experiment with how well it works and get back soon. The first time I tryed after 24 hours of sitting the mixture it turned cedar a blackish color as posted previously

[Lynn O. Doughty]

While it's not something you would want to do with your carving, I use a lot of weathered wood in the scenes I build. My brother gave me his old cedar fence when he tore it down years ago but I've long sinced used it up. Now I go down to Lowes and buy that cheap dog-earred fencing and nail it up on the side of my shop carport where it catches the sun. Doesn't take that long to turn great. Also, when we're out riding horses I have a secret place at Pea Ridge Battlefield Park where I get all my dead cedar branches which I use to build fences, gates, trees, etc. It's surprising that the park employees haven't stopped to ask what I've been up to when I show up in the parking lot at the end of a ride with a load of wood tied on the back of my saddle.

[Bob's Birds]

Try this mixture. It is from the chainsaw forum

" If you're looking for gray-maybe the steel wool/vinegar brew would work. You can vary the darkness of the gray by diluting the mixture with a little more vinegar to lighten it before you brush it on. I played with it quite a bit on an owl I was doing. Full strength turned it brown. I diluted it by 25% and got gray-another 25% gave me a light gray. Just played around on scraps to see how it worked. That's my 2 cents (maybe a penny and a half!)."
Apparently it is not good on pine, turns a mucky grey.

Bob

[Joy]

Once we sprayed iron sulphate on our flower bed and it turned the fence weathered grey. We had to go back and spray the entire fence to to make it match where we had oversprayed.

[rayman]

you can turn cedar grey by mixing baking soda and water together( ratio doesn't matter) let it sit for an hour if not dark enough do it again..Just mix it in a spray bottle...

[BobT]

I think what you are looking for is the Black Alcohol solution. Mix 1 pint of Denatured Alcohol (Rubbing Alcohol works so-so) together with one tablespoon of India Ink. Mix well. There should be no lumps floating around. If you have lumps you are not using the right ingredients. Make sure you don't use a water based ink. True India Ink has no water.

The concept is that the Alcohol does not raise wood grain or whiskers like Water. The small amount of India Ink normally works for me. You can add more or less to get the shades you want. The Black does pool in cracks and whatever, to enhance the effect. The alcohol solution does not affect glue joints either, in case you have any.

You should have asked a Model Railroader first. They are the Pro's at weathering.