The next issue that I decided to tackle was trying to remove the stain in the deep grooves that were on the sides and top of this little chest. The hand sander wasn’t able to get into those grooves at all. I simply took https://woodcarving.info/ the 60 grit sand paper and folded it in half and then used that to get into those tight spots. Again, the 60 grit roughed up the grooves, but I was very happy with the ‘worn’ look that the rough sand paper created.

The sun is a great natural bleaching agent. You can use the sun to help brighten your white painted piece or help with wood bleach like we did. We left the trunk out in the sun to dry & our trunk was completely transformed.

Scrape And Sand

Since my table had drop leaves I was careful to remove the heavy varnish from the underside and around small details also. First, you’ll need to remove paint or varnish off the wood before bleaching. Once my paint was dry, I applied 3 coats of poly to the painted portion only. Once all your dust is cleaned up you’re ready to mix your bleach solution and paint it on. I would probably suggest exactly what you have read though…bleaching, with bleach, to lighten it up a bit before you stain. You could of course try it somewhere inconspicuous or somewhere that you can then sand back down if it doesn’t work out.

Then I went back over it all with 150 to smooth it out. I love making over small wood pieces like this so I snatched it pop over to this site right up. Now, keep in mind, some woods are darker than others so if you have a darker wood this may not work as well.

How To Lighten Stained Wood Without Sanding

I used a combination of water and vinegar 50/50 which can be used. But use extra caution with this because bleach and vinegar when mixed can form a toxic gas. But you do not want the bleach to continue to https://woodcarving.info/bleaching-wood/ process the wood, so you need to interrupt that process. I just covered this above, but get down to the bare wood of your furniture. You will want to get down to the bare wood before you apply bleach.

• The water makes the grain raise so you will need to do this to get a smooth finish.
• I stripped and did everything to my bedroom set.
• Here are some of my personal favorite durable top coats.
• Keep in mind, each type of wood likely has its bleaching limits.
• In addition, heavy sanding is not always practical.