These homemade wood stains are inexpensive (like cost-you-pennies cheap), easy to make yourself, and easy to use without the strong smells of off-the-shelf stains.
Con: DIY wood stain takes time. If you need the project done and stained today, mixing up your own stain won’t meet your deadline since it takes time for the vinegar, steel wool, and other ingredients to break down enough to create the homemade wood stain to age the wood.
we were really surprised to notice that the pre-stain application of white vinegar, apple cider vinegar, black tea, and coffee made more of an impact on the finished color than the makeup of the stain itself.