Is it possible to fade bricks?

[dowzer]

We have just finished bricking up our integral garage and putting a window in - the "problem" is the new bricks look new

The current bricks are not sooty or dirty but have just had 5 years of sunlight on them so are a very different shade to the new ones which really do stand out and I was wondering if there is a way of fading or "bleaching" the new bricks so they look a little more aged than they really are?

Thanks

Jason

 

[PrenticeBoyofDerry]

I think your going backwards, in the solution.
Your old bricks have weathered or efflorescence has occurred, why don't you restore these back to the original state.
Rather than the opposite way around.

 

[freddiemercurystwin]

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[dowzer]

Unfortunately it is a case of a whole 3 storey, 4 bed house v 7ft squared so fading the new bricks is easier to do!

I did do a search before posting but I live in a city with no chimney so soot is kinda out for me so was hoping for other suggestions or even products which do the job

 

[joinerjohn]

There are specialist firms that do brick painting. They apply special paints to match brickwork to existing etc.

 

[jeds]

Dyebrick.com - Bleach them down and then stain them up.

 

[theoldun]

Jason,
Over the years I have tried everything. I have not tried Dyebrick, as from what I have been told, it is basically a cement dye and fades in the same way as the present cement dyes do that are on the market.
You can do wonders with a soot wash providing you get it right, but once again, due to weathering this fades away in a couple of years.
We have had success with yoghurt, but only on stonework.
What I am going to tell you was taught to me back in early 50s when I started as an apprentice. It does not always work, a lot depends on the bricks, but it has got me out of trouble a number of times.
You want a 25 litre bucket with a top. You need to half fill the bucket with fresh cows pat, yes fresh cows s**t, top the bucket up with preferably stagnant water, or rainwater that has been in a butt for a while. Put top on bucket and leave out in sun for couple weeks. Do not use tap water.
Get a couple of spare bricks and paint the mixture on. May need two or three coats. Leave for a fortnight and see if they have aged down.
This is not a wind up Jason, just one of so many little things that people in this modern age do not seem to know about. I do not know why it works, in the same way that the old boy who told me did not know. Hope it works for you.
old un.

 

[PrenticeBoyofDerry]

sounds a load of bull to me

 

[EddieM]

How about leaving them for a few years? What could be easier?

 

[TicklyT]

Jason,
Over the years I have tried everything. I have not tried Dyebrick, as from what I have been told, it is basically a cement dye and fades in the same way as the present cement dyes do that are on the market.
You can do wonders with a soot wash providing you get it right, but once again, due to weathering this fades away in a couple of years.
We have had success with yoghurt, but only on stonework.
What I am going to tell you was taught to me back in early 50s when I started as an apprentice. It does not always work, a lot depends on the bricks, but it has got me out of trouble a number of times.
You want a 25 litre bucket with a top. You need to half fill the bucket with fresh cows pat, yes fresh cows s**t, top the bucket up with preferably stagnant water, or rainwater that has been in a butt for a while. Put top on bucket and leave out in sun for couple weeks. Do not use tap water.
Get a couple of spare bricks and paint the mixture on. May need two or three coats. Leave for a fortnight and see if they have aged down.
This is not a wind up Jason, just one of so many little things that people in this modern age do not seem to know about. I do not know why it works, in the same way that the old boy who told me did not know. Hope it works for you.
old un.

Many of the old canal bridges and tunnel portals of the Basingstoke Canal were restored about 20 years ago. IIRC The new brickwork was toned down to match the existing bricks by spraying it with farmyard slurry.

I think the theory was that it provided a more fertile substrate to speed the establishment of lichens and other micro-organisms that 'weather' the bricks.

 

[Thermo]

also works with milk or yoghurt