Post #433538 by GatorRob on Tue, Feb 10, 2009 3:15 PM

I can tell you what we did to "nicotine" age the lahala for our room. This came after many trials (and errors) with several products and at different mixtures. The winning combo we came up with was a 12-to-1 mix of poly to stain. Specifically, we used Minwax Red Mahogany stain and Minwax Clear Gloss poly. The goal was to give the lahala a rich, leathery feel like you'd get after decades of smokers. But without the smell. :)

As for applying it, since we had a lot to do, we tried spraying it on with a garden sprayer, but the poly kept gumming it up and it didn't spray evenly anyway. We stayed clear of a brush to avoid brush strokes, so we decided to go the most labor intensive route (because we have nothing better to do I guess) and hand rubbed the mixture on with soft rags. We could get it in all the nooks and crannies that way. We went pretty light with it and wiped all the excess off. Didn't want to darken it too much.

Here's a swatch of untreated lahala held up against a treated wall. The hand model is my lovely wife. :) The "unaged" lahala is rather flat, lifeless. The treated lahala takes on a deeper tone and has a light gloss to it (exaggerated by the flash).

Here's a shot (flash again so you can see -- not a glamor shot) of part of the room so you can see the lahala color across a wall. The ceiling is a different material that is darker than the walls. I think it turned out pretty good. We're still in construction on the room. Lots more to put up on the walls and ceiling.

[ Edited by: GatorRob 2009-02-10 16:54 ]