Exterior wood... How to get that lovely olde worlde brown look.

[JandLandG]

Hi there

Anyone have any ideas how those lovely old wood doors/barrels/gates get their nice deep brown look?

We've a piece of wood that covers an old well in our garden...I put some black metal hinges on it to give it the correct 'feel' I was after, but the wood just won't stay a nice colour (I put some creosote type stuff on it).

I'd like it to have the colour/texture of something like this but don't know what to use to get the colour right...and lasting.

Any thoughts/ideas/suggestions?

I can't see anything in diy shops that will do the job...any specialist knowledge out there can point me to the right product?

Many thanks in advance.

[NicholasTeakozy]

Hardwoods tend to go silver with age, and tbh it's a look I really love. To obtain the look/colour of the door in your link use something like Danish oil, which will stain and protect hardwood. If you've used a softwood then you need to seal it with a varnish.