How do I age pine to an old 'barn-board' look?

[kalbfleisch]

I have tried the steel wool / vinegar recipe on rough cut pine that we used on the outside of our garage and would like to age to match our 1850 farmhouse. Unfortunately, I don't a grey colour but instead brown. Any suggestions?

[Ryan Shervill]

Stronger vinegar (use pickling vinegar), longer soak (leave the steel wool in the jar...days), make sure you are using #0000 steel wool, re-apply, repeat

[mika75]

a good friend of mine showed me a trick that works fairly well to, well it did on cherry, mix lye and water. then rag on. the colour change is immediate.
might work with pine.

[Julian]

Seems to me like you are going to a lot of work to get a product that is not really the same as the original.
There are plenty of places around that harvest and sell actual old barn board..why not just get some of the real thing.
Julian

[greyskies99]

Related to this issue, does anyone have ideas or suggestions to replicate the "random" look of barn boards, including "simulated" nail holes, etc.?

[Al=name]

The vinegar/steel wool method requires the wood to have a high tannin content to work. Pine doesn't have that, but as Leo pointed out, you can wash it with a strong cold tea solution (several times if need be), let it dry and then apply your "stain". Sandblasting is one way to get the wood to show the difference between soft and harder grain, pressure washer is another. Everyone has their favorite method. Experiment!
Paul

Would basswood work instead of pine?