Bleaching wood

[STUART Robertson]

Anyone experimented with bleaching wood?Any successful methods found?

[Russell Neyman]

Several years ago, I was refinishing a dresser and the top had been badly discolored by spilled liquids. Taking it back to "completely blond" and recoloring it achieved a good result. After several false starts, the product I used was a two-part system offered by Zinsser (see photo). The oxalic acid crystals offered in some home centers just did not work!

There is a certain degree of destructive process going on with this, so be prepared to deal with a rougher surface post-treatment. I wet-sanded the surface with lacquer sanding sealer and that filled the open pores nicely. One thing I like to add to my hollow forms are pure white holly finials. Well, we all know that holly can sometimes turn grey or spalt, and the Zinsser bleach takes it back to white very quickly.
wood bleach kit.jpg