# roofing tar for staining wood?



## Polonian (Mar 23, 2011)

Overheard some conversation about mixing roofing tar with something to bring out either the grain or color of wood. Is anyone familiar with using a mixture of roofing tar with anything for wood staining and what benefit it may impart?


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## Geoguy (Feb 22, 2008)

I've heard of thinning some roofing tar in mineral spirits to get a "mission-style" look or color. The dark color in the roofing tar will penetrate into the pores of the wood to make the pores black and the surface a dark amber color to give an "old world" or "mission" type color or patina to the wood. I've never tried it but sounds interesting.


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## mickit (Oct 5, 2009)

That does sound interesting...are we talking actual 'tar' or roofing compound? I'll be watching this thread...I really like the look that Geoguy described. More info please!


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## Roger Newby (May 26, 2009)

One of the original stains on oak for mission style furniture was asphaltum (roofing tar) thinned with mineral spirits. It does a good job but is basically impossible to reverse should you decide later to refinish and lighten things up. Has to be sealed with shellac to prevent bleeding through any other finish.


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## stevenh (Oct 9, 2009)

That is what they use to tint Watco Walnut Danish Oil

The Watco is tinted with asphaltum (ie. roofing tar) which turns out to be quite good for the purpose. It's a pigment stain, but is so fine that it acts much like a dye, giving a good clear tint.


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## jharris (Jan 8, 2011)

An interesting idea.

This is only somewhat related but I used Ironite (check your local garden center) to stain my back patio. 

These are BB-like pellets used to introduce iron into lawns.

I noticed that my neighbor had used it and some of the pellets ended up on his driveway. The sprinklers came on and the overspray combined with the Ironite and left rust stains on his concrete.

Hmmmm! 

I wet my concrete patio down and broadcasted the Ironite pellets onto it. 

It was summer so in order to keep things wet enough to achieve the desired effect I had to occasionally mist the patio with a garden sprayer being careful to just keep it damp.

The result was a concrete patio with a rusty color.

Pretty neat, very cheap.

Jeff


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## mickit (Oct 5, 2009)

Pretty cool, Jeff.
Charlotte's been watching HGTV again...always results in additions to the honey do jar(it evolved from a list years ago:laughingShe's been talking about statning the patio for months now...and the price of the kits...


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## jharris (Jan 8, 2011)

Yes they are expensive. 

This mwthod is cheap but you only get one color.

Here are photos.

One shows the stained concrete dry.
It looks better than unstained concrete.

The other photo shows the concrete wet and looks much better so I'm trying to figure out an inexpensive way to seal it to permanantly give it a wet look.

Jeff


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## jharris (Jan 8, 2011)

Oops. Sorry.


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## Rick Mosher (Feb 26, 2009)

In the coatings industry they use gilsonite which is a refined form of asphaltum. Sherwin Williams carries it in their S64 stain series (S64N44). If you are cheap you can buy gilsonite cheaply from coating manufacturers if you can find one close by. Many finishers use Henrys roofing aslphalt (the Non-Fibrated solvent type) #810-07. It can be thinned with mineral spirits, VM&P Naptha or even lacquer thinner. It works well as a stain or a glaze and is very transparent. I would recommend the gilsonite instead of the alphaltum though.


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## Scoma (Apr 1, 2011)

jharris said:


> Yes they are expensive.
> 
> This mwthod is cheap but you only get one color.
> 
> ...


Be careful with the wet look concrete sealant. I used to know a concrete guy who used a glossy sealant on his stamped concrete. Only problem was it was slick as snot when it actually got wet. I had him mix a little sand in the sealant. Didn't take away from the wet look, but traction got much better.


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## robert421960 (Dec 9, 2010)

i used the roof patch tar and mixed it with mineral spirits and made stain for the rough cut poplar beames in my home 15 yrs ago
i like the look


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## chrishemmer (Apr 23, 2011)

*Like It*



jharris said:


> Oops. Sorry.


I'm really liking this site color on concrete looks good I'm going to try it.:thumbsup::thumbsup:


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## Old Knucklebuster (Jan 19, 2014)

My family has a camp in the north woods and it's a long drive to a hardware store. I knocked together some outdoor benches out of scarp pine. My can of exterior stain had gone bad, so I mixed roofing tar with paint thinner (Lord knows why my dad bought so much roofing tar over the years) I strained off the black coffee colored liquid and left the gloppy bits in the bottom. I soaked this stain into wood benches--it penetrates well--and wiped off the excess. It turned them a dull transparent dark chocolate color. We leave these benches out through the winter and mud season on the dirt and after three years there was no moss, rot, or ant burrows. They faded a little in the sun, so I soaked them again. I used the same finish on the plywood siding of our outhouse and now it looks palatial. I probably wouldn't buy roofing tar to do this, but if you got some to use up on exterior projects, it works swell.

Incidently, I have fumed oak furniture in the past. I bagged a chair with pan of industrial ammonia I got at a photo supply place. It worked. Any nails or screws will turn black and stain the surrounding wood. You won't see the color until you finish over it with oil or shellack. I found aniline dyes work better and are easier to control if you're looking for a Stickley look. Tar might get you there, but dyes are easier to mix to the tone you want.


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## BigAck (Mar 21, 2017)

mickit said:


> That does sound interesting...are we talking actual 'tar' or roofing compound? I'll be watching this thread...I really like the look that Geoguy described. More info please!


I used to work with an old timer who used a mixture of roofing tar ( the solid kind like the use to melt for flat roofs ) and lacquer thinner to make a very quick drying stain. He was a cabinet maker and when one got a scratch or ding during delivery or installation he would pull out his wax paper containing roofing tar and a bottle containing lacquer thinner and mix up about any color he wanted. I too have used it on entire projects--WORKS well.


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## Steve Neul (Sep 2, 2011)

You could throw a project in a mud puddle to stain it but why? There are so many fine stains a person could purchase which are completely compatible with modern finishes and not come back to haunt you. What you think works well might be a different story in a year or so if the finish starts pealing. Finishing is difficult enough without jury rigging the stain.


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## Jim Frye (Aug 24, 2016)

Diluting tar, or asphaltum, with turpentine, or mineral spirits, is an age old stain solution. It may be centuries old, but as Steve stated, there are much better commercial solutions available. In my mind, diluting tar falls into the same category as dissolving steel wool in vinegar, and staining using tea bags. Minwax Provincial, #211, looks a lot like the old asphaltum based stain and even doesn't have any pigment like the old mix.


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## Quickstep (Apr 10, 2012)

*Here are some recipes for mission stain*

http://homesteadfinishingproducts.com/stickley.pdf


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