How to Make Fresh Cut Cypress Lumber Looked Weathered

If you are installing it in an existing area, or want an antique look, you must weather the new boards. Weathering cypress lumber requires that you distress it and apply a light colorant to tone down the brightness.

1. Lay the cypress lumber boards out separately on a tarp spread over the ground. Leave at least 2 to 3 inches of space between each board so that you have room to work on the edges and sides. Don safety glasses and work gloves before proceeding.

2. Insert the head of a hammer onto an old sock or wrap a cloth around it to blunt it slightly. Hit the edges of the cypress lumber with the hammer to dent it in random locations. Use enough force to create small dents and depressions, but not enough to crack or break the boards.

3. Distress the remaining flat surface of the cypress lumber by hitting it with a metal chain or by filling the sock with 1/2 cup of bolts and nuts. Hit the boards up and down the length and then flip them over to distress the other side.

4. Fill a glass jar with 1 to 2 cups of white vinegar and shred up a steel wool pad using your hands. Place the steel wool into the jar and screw the lid on it. Let the jar sit for 24 hours to allow the steel to interact with the vinegar and create an antiquing solution.

5. Boil 2 cups of water on a stove and then shut off the heat. Insert six tea bags into the water and allow them to seep until the water turns a dark color. You can let the bags seep as long as desired, depending on how dark you want the color of the cypress lumber.

6. Insert a paint brush into the tea solution and paint it onto all surface of the cypress boards. Wait until the tea solution dries completely.

7. Insert the paint brush into the vinegar mixture and paint it onto the cypress lumber in the same manner to remove some of the tea and create weathered streaks in the wood. Let the vinegar solution dry and then proceed with using the cypress lumber as desired.