My premature assumption that apple cider vinegar stain was a failure was just that. Premature. I’m still not entirely sure how the tutorials that I referred to could claim that steel-wool-infused stain is insta-wood changing after soaking for just 24 hours (or less!), because I’ll tell you this, it was clearly not to maximized potency in that short a period of time:

But it did work. It worked for me after I let the jar of vinegar and steel sit, soak, mull, infuse for two weeks. Two weeks! Almost half a month! 336 hours! For real.

If you’re willing to wait awhile longer to obtain nice, darkened vinegar, I ask you to give this a second chance. Just look at how dark that stain is now, you previously misinformed people.

It was seriously different than the first time I attempted making this stain, wherein I virtually mangled the little footstool that Julia uses to reach the sink. The new stain went on visibly darker than the stain which had only sat for a day. It wasn’t grainy either; it was almost gray, and definitely distinguished itself against the raw pine immediately not just wet.

It got better as it dried, darkening considerably and proving to be exactly what we hoped it would be.

And with that said, we’ve been brewin’ us up a brand new pot of DIY stain happiness with a half-gallon of apple cider vinegar and three wads of fine steel wool in the largest of the lidded decor vases that I owned.

Wedding table staining to commence pronto. Stay tuned.