How to Age New Pine Beams

Prepare to work area. Remove moveable objects that may get splattered with aging solution, such as furniture, lamps and vases. You also can move the objects away from the work area and place a painter's dust sheet over them. Place sheets of newspaper on the floor under the beams to catch any drips.

Prepare the pine beams for the aging solution. Sand the beams with 180 grit sandpaper. Distress the beams if you want by, for example, using a hammer to add imperfections such as dents.

Pour detergent into a bucket of water. Use a large sponge to remove dust and dirt from the beams. Allow them to dry. Place masking tape around the beams where they meet the wall to protect the wall from the aging solution.

Put on your face mask and rubber gloves to protect yourself from sodium hydroxide fumes and splatters.

Prepare your aging solution. Combine the liquid drain cleaner and water by filling your spray bottle with equal amounts of each liquid.

Apply the aging solution to the pine beams. Spray solution on a rag and wipe the beams with the wet rag. You also can spray the solution directly on the beams and then wipe the beams with your cloth. As you wipe the pine, the color will start changing to a yellowish shade. The color change allows you to see which areas you might have missed with the aging solution. Let the solution dry to a gray-green color overnight.

Apply the light brown creme wax to the pine beams with a rag. Allow the wax to sit on the pine for a few minutes, then buff it off with a clean cloth.