Real or Faux? How To Age New Pallet Wood

This tutorial on How to Age New Pallet Wood will leave you wondering what your next Pallet Project will be!

One question that comes up over and over again is “How do you get your pallet wood to look like old, reclaimed wood?  My answer is always the same…”I simply bring the pallets home, power wash them and leave them out in the sun to weather naturally”.  But I live on acreage outside the city so I have room to spread them out and let them “season”.

So…..

What if you live in a subdivision?  I am pretty sure your Homes’ Association will not look favorably to pallets spread out in your front yard for weeks at a time 🙂

This tutorial will show you how to take new pallet wood and make it look aged within a couple of hours!

Let’s start with the basics…

Does everyone know the best place to find free pallets?  Look for retail shops that receive goods but don’t ship them out.  For example…hot tub companies, pool table companies and home decor stores.  They receive merchandise on pallets, unpack it and place it on their showroom floor. Customers buy from them and take it home in their own vehicle.  What happened to the pallet it was shipped in on???  It is sitting in the back of their store and I promise they will be thrilled if you take them off their hands.  (Make sure you ask permission FIRST!).

Diva Tip: I mentioned the hot tub and pool table companies because they have oversized pallets.  I like to pick up the big ones and then cut them to the size I need.

Does everyone know the best way to separate the pallet boards from the frame?  The answer is a hacksaw with a metal blade.  I cut right through the nail.  Pallet wood is too brittle to pry it off…it will split every time.

Supplies Needed

• Acrylic Paint in the following colors: White, Cream, Black, Burnt Umber and Raw Umber
• 3″ Chip Brush
  
• 1″ Brush
• Pallet Wood
• Sponge
• Mixing Containers
• Rustoleum Clear Matte Spray Paint
  

Before you begin, mix up a small amount of gray paint by taking the white and black acrylic paint and blending thoroughly.

Lay your pallet wood out in an assembly line fashion.  Start with the cream acrylic paint.  I put it on a paper plate and used a 3″ chip brush to dry brush it on the new pallet wood, covering about 75% of the wood.

Before the cream paint completely dries, take some of the gray mixture and blend it in.  There is no right or wrong way to do this.  I covered about 33% with the gray.  Let dry completely.

In a small container, mix 1 part raw umber paint to 4 parts water.  Take your small paint brush and splatter generously over your cream and gray painted pallet wood.  Take a paper towel or soft rag and blot to remove excess or areas where you may have gone a little crazy.  Let dry.

Mix another wash of 1 part Burnt Umber and 4 parts water.  This will be your aging stain.  Dip a sponge into the mixture and wipe across your pallet wood to pull all of the colors together.  Let dry.  Repeat steps until your desired look is achieved.  Let dry.  Seal with 2 coats of Matte sealer.

Bam!  Look at that…instant aged pallet wood.  You can age an entire trailer full of wood in an afternoon and then build with it the next day.

I use pallet wood for EVERYTHING!  I have used it as a focal wall, on ceilings, on a bar front, on a bar back, on the back of IKEA bookcases, to make tables, to make clocks, to make wedding signs, and on and on and on…

Ya’ll inspire me and I LOVE to see the work that you’ve created. Feel free to share with me on Instagram, Twitter or Facebook. And as always, be sure to follow Diva Of DIY on Pinterest and sign up for our FREE Newsletter to receive the latest projects delivered straight to your inbox!