Narrowboat Alchemy: Turning Pine into Ash

Princess Lucy is lined with ash, and she looks very nice. However modifications and improvements are needed in some areas, and any new wood really needs to match the old wood.

Having searched the world for a local (and affordable) source of ash, and failed, I set about looking at alternatives. Staining or colouring pine seemed to be the obvious solution. The grain patterns are not too different, so it's just about getting the right 'colour.' The internet, where I fully expected to see a man on YouTube giving me the precise answer also failed me, so without boring you about the precise steps along the way, I will go straight to the answer.

Coloured varnish was the answer. But Beech varnish proved a bit to yellowy or orangey, although fairly close, and Medium Oak varnish was a bit too grey and mucky, although again fairly close. The answer was a 50/50 mix of beech and light oak (I used Wilkos) followed by gloss yacht varnish.

The result (of a part of the new shower surround) is shown here.

Next week: "Lead to Gold" using 2H pencils from Woolworth's and a tin of Red Cardinal Polish.