how to lighten wood beams

7 years ago

Hi everyone. I just installed some faux wood beams in the bedroom and now that they’re up, they’re quite a bit darker than I would like. They probably were too dark before they even went up, but now that they’re on the ceiling with less light hitting them (as compared to working on them on a table), they look even darker.

I have just one coat of water based polycrylic on them so sanding may be possible.. but it’s a lot of ground to cover and a lot of work close to the ceiling. I may be able to lightly sand some areas to distress and lighten sporadically..

I was thinking of applying a light white wash, either dry brushing or the normal way, but I don’t know if I’ll end up making it worse this way. I have some scrap pieces that were cut off the ends to experiment on, but I was wondering if any experts out there could point me in any direction.. thank you!

Featured Answer

toxcrusadr

7 years ago

Well it looks like no one chimed in here. I have not tried to lighten something as you are proposing but I bet SOMEone has. You might do a web search for "dry brush paint". You'll find a lot of web pages about it. Probably selecting the color will be the trickiest part, and then practicing on the scraps. I would make sure you put the test scrap up by the ceiling to look at before comitting, too!

Good luck.

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Comments (8)

cdisimone
Original Author
7 years ago
Daytime and nighttime
cdisimone
Original Author
7 years ago
Before they went up- this is what they looked like
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wdccruise
7 years ago
Maybe you should try living with them for awhile. After your furnish the place and live with them for a few months, you might change your mind...or not care enough anymore to change them.
cdisimone
Original Author
7 years ago
Thanks. Both good advice. It’s funny because at certain times of the day I really like the way they look as is and I get nervous to touch them but most times of day I think they look too dark/stark for the room. For example I love what the window light is doing to that one beam directly above it at this time of day. Now if I could have all look like that all the time!
cdisimone
Original Author
7 years ago
Look how crazy this is. I hope this helps someone in the future. Go lighter than you think with stain for beams! These are the ends of the beams cut off - the actual ones you see on the ceiling - but outdoors in daylight. You’d never believe it’s the same, right?
cdisimone
Original Author
7 years ago
Again I hope this helps someone out in the future-
Here are those same 2 beams with some experimenting. Top left and bottom middle were untouched. Top right lightly sanded with 120 grit sanding block. Bottom left painted with Minwax pickling whitewash. Bottom right sealed with weatherwash white maintenance oil. I did some dry brushing with white on the side which I didn’t photograph but I liked way better than the pickling whitewash, which looks weird over dark stain. Out of all I think I like the light sanding the best.. I also tried another coat of poly over the light sanding which really darkens it again but it has more depth and takes away the chalky look.
toxcrusadr
7 years ago
You almost need a scaffold and a vacuum if you're going to sand, so you can lie on your back like Michelangelo and not suffocate from the dust.