Varathane 347105 Charred Wood Accelerator, Quart, Black

This came out better than I could've hoped! Very pretty. Just a warning, it takes about ten minutes for the color to show up. You'll think it's not working when you first apply it and hen the color starts to pop and you're like Oh WOW.

I ordered this product just to see what it would do. I needed to make new cedar like old cedar immediately because I'm on a timetable. It works perfect!! Took 30 minutes exactly and I put it out in the sun to help! You can see the brand new piece of cedar versus the other pieces which were bought at the same time!

Works very well aging new wood. Coverage isn’t as marketed. I had to use 3 quarts to cover 3 - 6’ x 8’ panels of weather treated dog eared fence panels. I’m very pleased with the finished look.

This turns out so pretty! I brushed the stain on with a paint brush then wiped it down with a dry rag.

I like the color just make sure you have a sealer. We didn’t seal in time thinking we’d be ok and in some parts the color washed away. Leaks everywhere so be careful what it’s being put on.

Of all the stains ever used this is by far the best product I've come across. Too bad it doesn't come in gallon cans as I have 54, 2 x 10 rafters to stain. It stirs up quickly and you will need to get the copper colored agent off the bottom as most cans seem to have a long shelf life before purchase and subsequent settling. It soaks almost immediately into pine and dries so quickly that an 18 ft. rafter is dry at the beginning before you reach the other end. (disclaimer: this is at 9,200 ft. elevation and in the sunlight.) Great for me as I can top coat it with urethane after 15 minutes. How a water based agent can dry so quickly is amazing. Stain is for an "Aged Wood" look. Don't know exactly what constitutes aged wood but on pine it is a dark brown effect. It soaks in so fast you have to be quick on the draw with your brush to even out what you are laying down on the wood or else you will have a darker stain mark if left for even 10 seconds. Experimenting with using a roller vs. brush has pros and cons. A smooth surface roller is faster but leaves unstained areas with minor depressions in the wood surface. Using a thicker roller lays down too much stain and uneven darker/lighter areas and the fast drying makes it difficult to blend the dark to light areas. A brush is best as you can work in 2 ft. increments and keep a more consistent look to the stain by feathering the previous patch with the current.

I wanted a charred/ scorched look for a back drop trade show booth and this exceeded my expectations. I used beetle kill (blue stain) tongue and groove pine for the display. Reading a lot of the reviews and looking at the manufacturers photos for pine I was hesitant to purchase. But I figured an aged look wouldn’t be so bad. After the first coat I had something that resembled old barn wood. Very gray and brown oxidised looking. I had some uneven colorations so I went for a second coat and that’s when this magical product delivered exactly what I wanted. There’s a lot of gray and iridescent hues in different lighting just like scorched wood or charcoal has.I did zero sanding or prep on these panels and I’m sure the rough texture just adds to the character of the scorch. I highly recommend this product. My results were better than the sample photos.

The finished color was not as promised the color never turned grey after 4 coats