Matching 1939 old Pine boards - Probably NE heart pine

[laura vianello]

After trying to find a different solution for my attic floor, I got to the conclusion that I really want to savage the rustic look of my attic floor. I do not want to spend $2400 for a new floor and this floor has "enough character" to match the rest of the modern industrial style. My question is:
1) if I buy New Earth Pine, what is the the process/product that I can use to get closer to the old pine color? I understand that I need to distress it but I do not seem to get the right dye/stain to start. Any suggestion?
Thanks

[Mel Fulks]

I would probably use a "floor cloth" there. They fit the floor as close as paint after a couple of weeks. So you can see the ups and downs of the wood floor. Some use brass tacks at edges. Look at online examples.

[John K Jordan]

What I do is start with a new boards of whatever you plan to use, maybe wire brush or something to distress or at least knock back the slick planed surface, then experiment with stains and mixtures of stains. (Stain will look different on rougher surfaces.) I did this once and found Minwax Ipswitch Pine stain mixed with a little something else made a nice match. We brush a bit on in one area maybe 12" long, then another or a mix in the next area, etc. Write down the stain name and the mix proportions if any. Two coats will probably darken more. Let dry before evaluating.

I'm certainly no expert (my wife is a lot better) but this method may work for you. Takes a while. Once a friend spent several days mixing and testing to come up with the best "pickling" pigmented stain to closely match our timber frame interior. He had to experiment with the application as well as the color.

After trying to find a different solution for my attic floor, I got to the conclusion that I really want to savage the rustic look of my attic floor. I do not want to spend $2400 for a new floor and this floor has "enough character" to match the rest of the modern industrial style. My question is:
1) if I buy New Earth Pine, what is the the process/product that I can use to get closer to the old pine color? I understand that I need to distress it but I do not seem to get the right dye/stain to start. Any suggestion?
Thanks

[laura vianello]

Mel, Sorry I am not sure I understood your post. I have new pine and and I want to try to match the old pine in the picture. What do I do with brass tacks? floor cloth is a kind of canvas, what do I use it for? Are you thinking about filling the gaps?

[laura vianello]

Yes, I have done the distress but I do not seem to get the right color to start. I need to hear from somebody who tackled a similar project. Thanks for your suggestion. I might try with Minwax Ipswitch Pine

[Mel Fulks]

Lots of photos , the look can be formal ,informal, or way out whimsical. It's basically a thin rug. Sometimes they were and
are used wall to wall. Just one more idea to make a splinter less, smooth floor. "Perspective squares " is the pattern I like
best.

[Jim Becker]

Well...you could put the replacement boards out in the sun for awhile.

Or chemically change the color (I'm not the right person to suggest what) as an alternative to dye/stain. Pigment stains are not your friend here for pine or similar as they boards will look "muddy" rather than retain that nice grain pattern within the grey-brown color.

[Tom M King]

A mix of Minwax Puritan Pine, and Natural can get you close to the color without making the lighter colored grain too dark. You may need a little of something else, but it won't take much to make a difference. It will continue to darken over several decades, so I wouldn't take it all the way there to start with. So some experimenting, and let the sample pieces dry completely before you make a decision. Write on the sample boards what the ratio is before you stain them.

I'm not a big fan of Minwax stains, but this has worked for me for so long on Pine, that there's no need to change now.

If you use any of the darker stains, I don't think you would be very happy with the results.

[Wayne Lomman]

Out in the sun for a while and then scrubbing and bleach. The lighter areas are actually a lack of colour due to decades of cleaning. And the darker colour is aging which you will find hard to achieve with stain as it will darken the soft growth rings. Do a test piece first. The new timber needs a strong contrast between hard and soft growth as best as you can find a matching look.

Also be prepared to give the new floor a hard time after it is installed. Tramp around with muddy boots, make the dog lie on it, have a picnic with no cloth, spill coffee etc etc with a good, hard, harsh cleaner scrub in between. Jim was on the right track. Cheers

[laura vianello]

thank you all for your help

[Mike Leonardo]

I had a project where I needed to match heart western yellow pine from the 1950s with new western sugar pine. I found water dyes to work much better than any oil based stains. They did not blotch like the oil stains do although it took some experimenting to get the tone I wanted. I ended up with a nice honey/orange that blended well with the old heart pine. You would need a different color based on you picture.

Water dyes do have their panic moments. They look like they are going to blotch as they dry, but they tend to even out. They also dry with absolutely no sheen so they look funny until you apply a clear coat of some kind. In spite of these issues, I'll never go back to oil stains on pine.

WD Lockwood sells a "sample pack" of sorts that allows you to play with the colors. As I recall its 5 colors of your choice at a discount price.

[laura vianello]

Thanks Mike, I will consider your suggestion!!