Painting and dying wood furniture frequently yield the desired results, but home improvement projects occasionally require a little extra. Consider bleaching wood furniture to create a distinctive look in certain situations. Although bleaching wood is a very simple task, the corrosive nature of the medium necessitates extensive preparation.
Factors To Keep in Mind for Bleaching Wood Furniture
Metal stains can occasionally ruin the appearance of a wood finish. A short application of Oxalic Acid Wood Bleach can frequently even the tone in these cases.
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Similarly, treating wood that is mottled, discolored, or blotchy with household bleach makes the color of the wood appear more uniform, giving you a lovely surface to stain or treat. This technique is effective in the case if you’re going to fix scratches on your wooden furniture.
Bleaching wooden furniture is a hassle-free technique to get the trendy Scandinavian blonde wood design and serves as a good primer before applying whitewash to your home’s interior. How to bleach wood furniture is one of the toughest techniques, but it can be done with bleaching with little or no side effects. Experts at Plush Furniture Dubai shared tips on using wood bleach to lighten the colors.
1. Prepare the Wood Furniture Before Bleaching
Clean the wood you intend to bleach before beginning your task for refurbishing. Put on your protective gear and wash down the surface with Tri-Sodium Phosphate Wood Cleaner to reveal what lies beneath the grime and debris.
After cleaning, you should be able to determine whether using a stripper or paint remover to remove any underlying stains or colors is necessary before moving forward if you discover that the wood furniture needs to be stripped of lacquer, acrylic, milk, or cream paint.
2. Sand and Scrape The Furniture
If you’ve used a stripper or remover on the item, scrape off and dispose of any remaining finish with a metal or plastic scraper. Then, please remove all of the stripper or remover from the furniture, get a hand sanding or sandpaper sheet, and scrub the piece until it resembles bare wood—sand well before bleaching, whether you are bleaching hand-built wooden tables, chairs, or customized solid wooden doors.
You may want to use coarser grain sandpaper here because complex portions, like twisted legs, often require much more sanding to come near to raw.
To achieve a uniform appearance and leave the wood grain open to absorb the bleach, give everything a gentle buff with changes to sandpaper to complete the project. Use the steel wool swabs and scrubbing brush to further damage and detail your piece.
3. Apply bleach.
Once everything has been sanded, thoroughly clean the surface with Tri-Sodium Phosphate before applying bleach. While you can apply it with a paintbrush or household bleach to clean the surface, using a spray bottle is a quicker and easier choice. Bleaching the furniture is almost the same as you paint wooden furniture with a brush.
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Simply mix water and splash-free household bleach in a spray bottle at a 1:1 ratio, shake it, and begin misting the solution over the wood furniture.
Spray the wood evenly, being careful to prevent any pooling or dripping as you go, and then let it out in the sun for too long for at least 15 minutes. Repeat this step as necessary to achieve the desired color of the wood.
Tips To Consider While Bleaching Wood Furniture
There might need to be more than opening the windows due to the caustic nature of bleach, which necessitates using complete safety equipment. Because of this, we advise working outside and utilizing fans to exhaust gases as you work.
Additionally, test the wood you intend to bleach before beginning your DIY project. You might need to adjust your recipe to achieve the desired results because not all wood types respond similarly to bleach.
Because the bleach solution may stain metal containers, use a ceramic or glass container to retain any bleach you’re dipping out with a paintbrush or rag.
Related: Expert guide to Spray Paint Metal Furniture?
If you know one way to bleach wood furniture, you now have more weapons for furniture refinishing. By bleaching wood furniture, you can make one-of-a-kind items that stand out with a little effort.
What Can Various Products be Used To Bleach Wood?
A common method for attaining a light wood finish is household bleach. The household bleach was less effective than it would have wanted because oak wood had red undertones. Household bleach will get rid of stains or dyes but won’t change the color of the wood itself.
Oxalic Acid is another name for wood bleach. Stains will be eliminated without changing the wood’s natural color. This will work wonders on stains or furniture affected by water. It would not be used to get the raw wood finish, personally.
The product that will alter the actual color of the wood is A/B Wood Bleach. Any species of wood, such as maple, cherry, cedar, and some oaks, that naturally have red or orange undertones should be treated with this chemical.
Can Any Kind Of Wood be Bleached?
Most woods may be bleached, but you must be aware of the different types of wood because they all have different effects.
It is crucial to grasp the nuances of each species and the type of material you will be working with. You can choose the ideal product to utilize for the bleaching procedure by being aware of the different varieties of wood.
Many earlier pieces occasionally had veneered tops and side parts. It is impossible to bleach the veneer. If you find a veneer top, you must take the veneer off.
How Long Does Bleach Take To Lighten The Wood?
Apply the bleach product as often as necessary to get the finish you want. Every wood is unique, and every wood will respond differently. Keep in mind that exposing the furniture to the sun will speed up the bleaching process. Don’t push it; this could take several days.
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Can Bleach Harmful for Wood?
Yes, using bleach or any other chemical can harm wooden furniture. The wood grain will be raised and dried when water and other chemicals are applied. Custom hand-crafted furniture must be carefully neutralized, sanded, and sealed to protect it.
At the End!
Bleaching is one of the most frequent techniques used when considering changing furniture. There are certain kinds of benefits and disadvantages of bleaching furniture. On one side, it gives a new finish to your product. On the other hand, it may harm the furniture and make its life span relatively less. Using the best technique with proper equipment handling and making things work in the best way is important in bleaching the product.
