Experimenting with Bleaching Wood

[@diegojustus711]

Can I “double 👍🏼 “ this video? I hate to think how long it took you to create this video but it has been incredibly helpful to me on multiple occasions and I am not a woodworker or a carpenter by any stretch of the imagination. I’m doing creative projects around my own home and clients homes. I’ve returned to watch your wood bleaching experiment time and time again. Love that it’s so thorough, informative and entertaining! Thank you!

[@3x3CustomTamar]

Awesome. Glad it was helpful!

[@brendand3030]

I agree! Very informative, and I will be referencing many times. I would love chapters even more.

[@MicahFunk]

A little note about RED oak and WHITE oak, both red and white oak can look identical. Some red oak is actually white in color, and some white oak is actually red in color. The big difference between red oak and white oak is the grain. Red oak has open grain, and white oak has tiny closed grain; therefore the reason white oak generally lasts much longer in the natural elements. And a note on sanding wood that is to be stained, if you sand with no finer than 180 grit the wood will accept the stain more readily. Experiment for yourself with sanding wood blanks. Try staining wood sanded in 120, 180, 220, and 400 grit paper. You may be quite surprised by the outcome. 😃

[@ghita.herdean.1979]

I love your style: doing a lot of research and testing before fully committing to a project. Improvising is for quick problem solving, not for starting the work. You deserve (at least) five stars for dedication.

[@3x3CustomTamar]

Haha. I always do tons of research before I start any project.

[@ghita.herdean.1979]

@@3x3CustomTamar I know. That is the main reason you are in my top three woodworking channels.

[@c2rail]

I recently did shou sugi ban on some white pine. After wire brushing off the ash, I applied a white wood stain and then wiped off the excess. Really great effect. The wood is white from the stain, but the darkened wood grain from the shou sugi ban burn shows through. I was really please with the outcome. This video is a little different than that, but I thought it relates. Love your content! Keep it up!

[@3x3CustomTamar]

Sounds cool

[@jessec8562]

Absolutely great video, it’s projects like this that become real research tools for us cabinet makers, thanks for all the effort!

[@3x3CustomTamar]

Glad you liked it! I love to experiment and learn!

[@ShaneSnell.21]

@@3x3CustomTamarQuestion in regards to the Clorox bleach. You mentioned that it dried or came out uneven, based on the product being applied a bit heavier on some areas. What do you think about actually soaking the wood in the Clorox, by submerging it? (I understand that it wouldn’t have worked on your testing pieces because of the kerfs designating different sections. I’m thinking more along the lines of larger pieces of wood.) Cool experiment. And for the record, the store bought 2 part solution on the hard maple, is my favorite test piece. I absolutely love that you can see the graining better than the AquaSilk and lye. I actually have a bunch of hard maple pieces that I’m turning into a headboard and, your test made me decide to use the store bought 2 part. Really cool video, BTW.

[@54mgtf22]

I often use oxalic acid to clean timber decks. I only ever wash it off with water. Takes the ‘silvering’ off hardwood back towards the original colour. Love your work 👍

[@3x3CustomTamar]

Just following the directions on the can! I need to do that to my fence…

[@linsen8890]

Yep, lots of deck cleaner products contain oxalic acid along with detergents.

[@tomruth9487]

Oxalic acid is my go to product for removing stains, especially metal stains on wood. It's also the main ingredient in deck cleaners as you have found out.

[@cammywammy240]

I am 100% impressed and grateful for this video! I’m interested in bleaching my great grandmothers maple table and I desperately needed to know! Thank you so much!

[@chrisreeves9199]

I’ve used ~70% bleach to water to bleach teak yacht decks. We just applied it with a stiff bristle deck brush and rinsed with fresh water after about 20 minutes. It gives a clean light look. Scrubbing it in with the brush gets it into the grain and helps keep the color even.

[@piskcoki200344]

Definitely going to try this thanks

[@debkushner22]

What are the portions?

[@denvernow7294]

​@@debkushner22Deb, he said 70% bleach to water. Means 70% bleach/30% water. You're hot by the way. 😅

[@KarishaWells]

Soooo helpful! I usually have to go back and forth with Google searches, trying to find products, techniques, and pictures of end results, and you compiled them all beautifully right here. I am also over the moon that you went the extra mile to show the results with the finish because as I was watching your video, I knew that was going to be my next search. Bravo, and thank you! I want to do hardwood floors in my bathroom, but I didn't want the yellow look most woods have. You've officially solved all my question in 27 minutes, and saved me hours of Google searching and research that only leaves me with a general idea and leads me to more hours/days of "fuck around and find out". P.S. watching another woman do this has empowered me so much more than watching a man doing this would have. ❤

[@PapasPilar]

Thank you for doing this very thorough comparison. I recently made a chair for a customer who wanted a distressed beachy look so I experimented a little. The chair was red oak and beech and the product I used was from Zinsser (I have no affiliation) which was a 2 part process as well that I applied one at a time. I was astonished how bleached each species became. The red oak was coming off in my foam brush while applying to the point the liquid took on the red/brown tone in seconds. In the end the client chose an unbleached distressed white paint wiped off look but I was very impressed by the Zinsser product Keep up the amazing work Tamar, I finish my portable workbench in a day or two 😎

[@3x3CustomTamar]

Nice! Glad you finished the bench! Yeah… I was searching for the Zinsser product, I just could not find it anywhere…

[@PapasPilar]

I couldn’t find it in the stores here in FL but Menards had it online so I went that route.

[@mycowboyways915]

Love the big experiment. I have bleached a bunch of maple and ash. If you really want to go for a super white finish you need to put on way more bleach and let it self dry overnight, then repeat that 2 and possible 3 times. It's really a cool transformation. Then apply Briwax brand liming wax. Liming wax is the only finish I use. Nothing else. Turns out really cool. Love your channel. No matter how much I think I know, I always learn something new.

[@SandraKelley]

I have a maple dresser I am so torn on how to stain/finish. It’s sanded down and I’ve noticed some areas where sun exposure changed some of the areas of color (and possibly sanding) I want the color to be even, so I was looking into bleaching or white washing. How do you prep your maple? Do you find the bleach evens out the tone/color and removes the yellow? What kind of bleach are you using?

[@kennyl4186]

Great effort! You went the extra mile on this one, thanks! Sanding can impact absorption as well. Stopping at 180 grit can yield some interesting differences.

[@davidmorin7939]

Hi Tamar! Thanks for another wonderful video!...I was once told by a professional cabinet maker that you can obtain cherry-like results using popular. I think you have made the connection by bleaching out the green tint so common in poplar leaving some lovely grain features! Thank you!

[@andystonebridge5061]

Just a couple of things about your experiments. Oxalic acid is, in the UK a notifiable poison and in its granular form is easily mistaken for sugar though smells faintly of sulphur, also when dry sanding after always make sure the Oxalic is well wiped down or you will choke. The Lye, Peroxide can burn very badly so if you get it on your skin plenty of clean water to irrigate the area. A mix I use sometimes when I don’t want a huge colour change is using Sodium Carbonate and Oxalic. Often when I chemical strip pieces I’ll sometimes wash with soda which does bleed the tannins so the Oxalic reverts this back and cleans the timber as well. The reason for applying the lye / peroxide separately is to allow the lye to bleed the tannins more effectively. It’s surprising just how timber reacts long term to bleaching the tannins seem to surface again, certainly when working on fumed or baked timbers like Oak. I’ve been a French Polisher for 44 years

[@darkknightnine]

I know its an older video, but I just need to share two things. 1) Thank you for this video! Love being able to see real life tests! 2) Forgive me. As a former chem teacher just wanted to pass along that safety glasses are nice, but if you are handling chemicals you might want to get your self a pair of splash proof goggles and a labcoat. I can type and see this and your vids today thanks to wearing splash proofs in college. A rather large explosion of chemicals got me in the face and body. I have a tiny scar and my sight. The only thing I was out of? the clothing I was wearing took about 100 pinhole sized splashes of chemical that I didn't know were there until I took the clothing out of the wash. Burn marks and holes everywhere. Not that they were all that nice of clothing, but I could have saved them with a labcoat. This has been my Ted talk. :)

[@Toni_Snark]

Chemists commented this when she first published this video.

[@MarksUkuleleTips]

I had been thinking about how I could make tonewoods for instruments paler, white, or pearlescent white without doing a UV bleaching process. It had been knocking around my head for a while when I finally sat down and searched for ways to do it, and wouldn't you know, Tamar already did a video about it. In my head, I went "Yes!" Because I knew that in 20 minutes time my questions would be answered, because your videos are always perfect in my opinion. Especially how set out with your best attempt at being comprehensive (and do a great job of it), then encounter one or two problems or oversights, and then explain them honestly and kind of, call yourself out on them if that makes sense? This is one of the most refreshing, valuable and rare tendencies in people who make videos. Those are some of the most valuable learning moments, I love them. The fact that 99% of folks edit out all of their mistakes and just smile, means that thousands of their audience members will go ahead and make the mistakes that were edited out and then feel like fools for making them. It also changes the feel of a video a lot too, changing things from a top down teacher/student lecture dynamic, to more of a friendly coworker dynamic. Like "Hey, I did this project, some stuff worked, some didn't, I didn't anticipate this problem, so watch out when you're doing yours". I feel like your videos save me lots of making mistakes and feeling frustrated with myself because I was lucky enough to have gotten a heads up from you. I really appreciate it. You do really fantastic work.

[@splifingate]

Than you, so much, Sister! I'm currently rehabilitating my 1954 red oak flooring, and I was pleasantly surprised to find you, with this :) Appreciate you.

[@Jenny-bx4gx]

Wow, thank you so much! This is the best and extensive information/tutorial I found on bleaching wood. I now feel confident about bleaching my coffee table and hopefully remove the yellow/orange hue from the wood!

[@markphillips5800]

This was sooooo useful! I've always avoided poplar because of all the colors - greens and purples - but oxalic acid will make it a viable choice in some of my projects. Thanks for providing a comprehensive review of techniques.

[@robbie6625]

Poplar seems to be a polarizing wood. I, for one, LOVE the variations in colors you can get. I stumbled upon a fair bit of "rainbow" poplar and used it to make a mini Moravian workbench for my niece and nephews. It has so much beautiful coloration.

[@3x3CustomTamar]

Glad you found it useful!

[@jameshodgins1937]

Wow! What a lot of work and a ton of great results. Thanks for sharing.

[@3x3CustomTamar]

Glad you liked it!

[@christophermoore1774]

Thanks for spending the money to do all that. I love videos like this. They help narrow down the options, which saves us viewers lots of money and unused product! Much appreciated!

[@youtukang]

😊😊🤝

[@3x3CustomTamar]

So glad you appreciate it!

[@giveemtheboot5123]

Interesting findings. As a chemist, I recommend anyone doing these processes to wear goggles, gloves, and labcoat(tyvek from big box store may work) in a well ventilated area. Lye and hydrogen peroxide are corrosive and caustic. For more accurate information on safety, read the specifications or look up the material safety data sheet for the chemical online.

[@rickeydenler2385]

I use to use Red devel lye and starch to make a striping soloution and strip old painted mantles with it heat water stir starch in till it thickens ppour in lye wear eye prtection and gloves apply with rags wraped around stick stapled it will eat brushes up

[@alans1816]

I agree, particularly about eye protection with lye. A friend once got acid in the eye. It hurt like heck, but because it was quickly and thoroughly washed out, completely healed. But the doctor pointed out that if it had been base (lye) the eye would have been lost.

[@TheAwesomes2104]

As a chemical engineering major, I said this same exact thing to my friend while we watched this.

[@nickbrutanna9973]

Agreed, I'd actually recommend a full face shield when working with any strong acid or lye, and consider getting a good chemist's apron if you're going to do it with any regularity. Add to that making sure your area is very very well ventilated. I recall in chem 2 in HS, I had a test tube that had HCl in it, which I'd rinsed out already, I waved a whiff of it to my face, and wham, I was not amused, even with it heavily watered down by the quick wash. You do not want to be breathing in that stuff at all. If you're going to store anything, get some pyrex, and/or pvc (and check that your chemicals don't eat PVC -- many won't). For some things, silicone will work, too.

[@youarenotme01]

ppe ain’t cutting it. that bleach was sanded and is all over that shop. i wouldn’t even do this outside with the wind blowin’ hard.

[@normkirkland1999]

Wow, Tamar! I know that project was an investment of time and effort, but what amazing, interesting results! Definitely a quality resource for out-of-the-box-thinking woodworkers.

[@3x3CustomTamar]

It was a lot of fun to experiment with this. Ha

[@luakhurst208]

Adding the kerf lines - masterstroke. Only you would take the time and trouble to do that. Chapeau, Tamar.

[@3x3CustomTamar]

Haha! It was bothering me so much that there was bleed through… 😂

[@Greenteabook]

I love experiments with organized results!

[@3x3CustomTamar]

Ha. Awesome. I love doing this stuff

[@colinmcleod2018]

Brilliant video! The timing of this video could not be more perfect for me: I'm just about to white-wash/stain and poly finish the first piece of furniture I've made. I'm using Mango wood and white stain + water polyurethane and have already made several samples. I think I might have to try a couple of samples of Osmo + Homebrew bleach - the Mango wood has white, grey, yellow, orange and brown tones so the results should be interesting! Thanks again for the detailed break down!

[@3x3CustomTamar]

Ooh that would be cool. Have fun!

[@andresilva8444]

Some of those finishes are pretty cool, even if that's not what you're looking for. Thanks for doing this. Gives us references without having to do the testing.

[@3x3CustomTamar]

Yeah! Lots of them were surprising to me!

[@jamesbecker7175]

Great video, thanks for sharing your experience. Heads up on Sodium Hydroxide… it can dissolve glass when heated. It needs to be a high concentration and the temp needs to be pretty high but I’d always use plastic when mixing and/or storing JIC. Hope to see the big project that comes from this experiment in the future.

[@3x3CustomTamar]

Thanks for that tip! Definitely not something I saw in my research

[@cheekkeith74]

I do a lot of custom veneer work for concept vehicles. I've had very good luck thinning down regular white automotive tint with lacquer thinner. Thin it down quite a bit and spray many light coats, being patient, allowing it to dry between coats until desired finish is obtained. Be careful not to coat too heavy or it'll get blotchy. Only catch is, you have to spray it with a normal auto paint sprayer. It'll turn white, leaving the tonal details visible.

[@ace.of.space.]

this was so thorough! I loved seeing the different bleaching and finishes

[@Goalsplus]

I was looking for this information a couple of years ago. This is the most comprehensive set of tests I've seen. Thanks very much.

[@3x3CustomTamar]

Glad you think so!

[@piratetaylor29]

BTW, I'm so impressed that you were able to catalog and speak to each method and the results of each as you compared them. I'm not sure I would have been able to keep it all straight! 👍🏻🇺🇸

[@iggysixx]

What I particularly like about this, is the 'color swatch' look of the wood pieces. This would be very helpful when talking to a potential client about preferred finishes. Most likely, a client just wants a certain color or shade. And then you, the professional, make it happen. Also a great way to remind yourself about the results of certain finishes. You can just write the formula on the back of each square. Something like: "OAK. Bleach: household (2 passes). Mid-process drying time: 2 hrs. Finish: tung oil (2 coats). Curing time: 24h. Properties: water / stain resistant (I know, I know.. Not w/ tung oil. But as an example) Maintenance: oil every 6 months" That could really help the client make a decision; do they care about color more, or having a maintenance free worktop. Could also really be helpful to give insight into WHY certain looks are more expensive (time + materials + hours), and why they might have to wait an extra X hours for certain things. Because THEY ultimately chose the process. So there should be more patience and understanding from their side :)

[@3x3CustomTamar]

For sure!

[@dawnd2856]

What a great and thorough video! Thanks for all of your hard work and thorough notes! I feel like I just watched an interesting science experiment!

[@jetsyfix]

Very interesting video with some great information, but it took me back to the '80's and '90's when I was a kitchen designer selling a lot of whitewash cabinets from various cabinet makers. While there were some very interesting variations on it (as you discovered) they often turned into a nightmare! Most whitewashes are extremely prone to changing color over time. The nature of whitewash on wood often created very unexpected variations - many of which were pretty awful. The worst thing (from the perspective of a kitchen designer) was touching up any kind of damage or trying to match colors if additional cabinetry was added later. Your video did a great job of showing why! Wish I'd had it as a tutorial for my customers back in the day.

[@tomruth9487]

Jeff Molter, as a longtime cabinetmaker, I do remember the whitewash fad back in the 80's and 90's. Now I try to steer clients away from coloring wood at all and usually for the reason's your mentioned. Having said that, I was at a friends house the other day and his whitewashed VG Doug fir looked really nice, much better than the orange look that fir gets in time.

[@3x3CustomTamar]

Haha! The 90s are back! 😂

[@apenza4304]

You did think and were correct in thinking the ash or maple would be your favorite for a bleached wood look. As an aside a client once called me after using a paint stripper called Peel Away on the walnut trim in their 1890’s townhouse. The stripper turned the walnut so dark it appeared black and after reading the Peel Away label it said “Do Not Use On Walnut” I didn’t know if I could save their trim or would have to replace it at considerable cost. I tried Bleach, Oxalic, and the two part bleach in a test area and to my surprise and the clients relief the two part bleach brought back that rich brown walnut color. Disaster averted and client learned the importance of reading the full label.

[@tomruth9487]

Apenza, what an interesting story you had with the walnut.

[@3x3CustomTamar]

That’s super interesting

[@robinbunn9408]

I really would love a more detailed look at the red oak results. You went over all the other types of wood with stain after bleaching but not the red oak:(. That’s what I’m really trying to decide on…which finishes worked best with red oak?

[@jolenemunford7952]

I was looking for this one over and over again too!

[@juneritchie2498]

A great demonstration to help us understand the various options and results. Thanks for your diligence!

[@3x3CustomTamar]

Glad you liked it!

[@lisachamberlain2346]

Loved this! Missed seeing the red oak with the different finishes being shown like the others since that is what I am working on. Great experiment!

[@vdis]

Very helpful. You video gave me the idea to experiment with both a 2 component bleach and oxalic acid to remove the green tint coated with a clear shellac or rice wax finish. Thanks for the inspiration.

[@chstoney]

I was considering doing similar experiment myself and now I don't have to😊. Thank you for the video. FIY some of my experiments results: Lye chandes many softwood to "aged" look and can change some light hardwoods like beech and hazel to brown. Does not affect maple. Ammonia has similar effect to lye but goes deeper and only the fumes also work in closed container. It changes oak and jatoba to very dark brown. Gives black locust an interesting yellow-honey-brown color. Does not affect maple. Ash greys. Iron acetate changes oak, jatoba and black locust to nearly ebony black.

[@PKDoesStuff]

Iron Acetate is a great way to achieve basically the opposite goal of the oxalic acid. For anyone who hasn't tried it, it reacts with the tannins in the wood and darkens the whole surface. Basically, if you have new wood that you want to match with wood that's been in the sun for 5-10 years, hit it with some iron Acetate to speed up the process. If you have some wood that's been in the sun/rain and you want it to look new, hit it with the oxalic acid!

[@3x3CustomTamar]

Glad you liked it!

[@piratetaylor29]

Tamar, love this tutorial. The show and tell was amazing. The variety of the sample woods is outstanding. You've helped alot of us showing the before and Afters of each type of wood. Keep up the good work and I'll keep watching all your videos. 👍🏻🇺🇸

[@youtukang]

😊😊🌹

[@3x3CustomTamar]

So glad you liked it!

[@charlieevergreen3514]

SUGGESTION: If you still have all these samples, could you put them out in the sun for a month or year? I’d love to see if they shift over time. I guess a UV lamp could approximate the natural sun, too, if that’s more convenient for you. Thank you for an awesome set of tests! It’s fascinating and very useful! (I’ve always been put off by poplar’s green hues! Fixed! Haha.) Your effort and sharing this info is greatly appreciated!

[@3x3CustomTamar]

That would be an interesting experiment for sure

[@AmericanDrinker]

....

[@jamesculpin9680]

Interesting results!!! I build a kids bed a few years back and the desired em finish was whitewash…. I ended up using regular emulsion but applied it with a cotton rag. Rubbing into to wood. Was so quick and easy and dries really really fast. Can just build up to desired look with multiple coats

[@3x3CustomTamar]

👍👍

[@dennishinkle5010]

I've never bleached wood before and really appreciate the information on how to. thank you for your time

[@3x3CustomTamar]

Glad you liked it!

[@seanrice1222]

You started bleaching walnut and my inner soundtrack was playing Sheryl Crow “ if it makes you happy, it can’t be that bad” 😉✌️

[@3x3CustomTamar]

😂😂😂

[@passerby9123]

So, by my often incorrect reckoning, you have 36 bits of wood, each with 4 sections plus the control, giving 36 x 5 = 180 types of various woods and comparative finishes. Bit like a computerised spreadsheet, except where the equations of your wood-sheet cannot be blended together or transferred to other cells. Reminded me of the old days, when books of samples existed in shops of carpets, paints, woods, plastics, materials etc. to aid people in their buying choices and long before computer mock ups and blended details on screens took over. Got to say I am impressed T-mar, with your efforts, with your initial working the pattern out, with your vocal transmission of the detailed understandings of each wood and each finish's application, and finally with how your video making skills brought all of these elements together in a very watchable and entertaining way. Serious question, does having that amount of finishes to chose from actually aid you in making a considered decision, or does the whole thing become a template of multiple varieties that seems to make the choice for you by throwing up an eye-catcher that your mind, for reasons of its own, just seems to love, or even to really, really like a lot, and which it then latches onto. Energy flows where attention goes, and conversely of course, attention can flow where energy goes.

[@KlayJones]

Awesome video Tamar! I really like what you found with the poplar. Now I can make some nice hardwood projects with one of the cheapest hardwoods and not worry about the ugly green hues. It looks so good! I really appreciate all the effort to put this together, super helpful!

[@3x3CustomTamar]

Yeah!! So cool that it removed the green!

[@rehkram]

@@3x3CustomTamar I actually love the green in poplar. I'm looking for ways to bring it out! Many thanks for the vids, always interesting and very well presented.

[@KevBotWorkshop]

Thank you for this, I have a commission that wants a bleach look, and you saved me from a ton of testing

[@3x3CustomTamar]

Awesome. So glad it was helpful! But def test the wood from your actual project 👍

[@smxaviermelendez9210]

Thank you for sharing the experiment. I am new to wood working and am trying to get an idea of different finishes and how to apply them to different projects. This one was fun to watch.

[@3x3CustomTamar]

Glad you liked it

[@bcole6502]

Thank you for the video! I will keep you posted on how it turns out😃

[@joemurphy5681]

Thank you for such a super thorough and great video!! I was worried you had forgotten about ash in your summary of the two-part bleaches @20 but so glad you do mention it around @24:23. It does look great and is what I was hoping to find as a begin a project in ash for which I want a very clean bright white-ish ash. So, again, well done and thank you!

[@3x3CustomTamar]

Yeah. It looks so cool!

[@seashellz321]

Thank you SO MUCH for doing the work! I have a decision to make on 75 cabinet doors and a dozen interior doors. This was so helpful! 🙏

[@3x3CustomTamar]

Please experiment on scraps!

[@seashellz321]

@@3x3CustomTamar 😂 thanks... there are some backs that I can sacrifice. 50 year old house... scraps be long gone 🤷🏽‍♀️

[@peterquailman2460]

I just love that everything really is a learning process. Regardless of skill level, there are a lot of things to learn that makes whatever you do absolutely exciting. Can't wait to see you incorporating these bleaching techniques to your projects. Keep it up, Tamar. Stay safe and God bless 😊

[@3x3CustomTamar]

For sure 🤘

[@levoncampbell4785]

I’ve bleached a lot of floors and always hated the process and smells, loved the video thou!!

[@SawdustmakerLori]

Looking forward to the table you're going to make using the bleaching technique! Thanks for all your hard work in comparing the different methods. I do testing but wouldn't have the patience to go that far. I was holding my breath as you were using those bleaching techniques wearing nice dark colored tops and jacket. No doubt I would have gotten bleached spots on them!

[@3x3CustomTamar]

Haha I did bleach my pants. But it goes well with all the stain and glue 😉

[@robertlitman2661]

FANTASTIC WORK! To avoid the hazmat shipping, you can buy sodium hydroxide (lye) crystals as drain cleaner at hardware stores. SOME drain cleaners have additives, while many do not. If you look at the contents, "pure" NaOH will be nothing more than milky white prills. When you see other things mixed in, then yeah, that's the additives. Note that sodium hydroxide will react with carbon dioxide in the air, weakening it, so it is not all that shelf stable. It will also react with glass, so concentrated lye solutions should always be stored in plastic. Finally, lye will dissolve your skin BEFORE you feel it happening. If you're working with lye and you feel itching, may to be in for an unpleasant surprise. Anyway, when you get lye on your skin, spend some real time rinsing that slippery feeling off. Like from 5 to perhaps even 15 minutes under running water. Like bleach, lye does not rinse off easily. As for the concentrated peroxide, it's not only sold by pool suppliers, but is also sold in smaller quantities by commercial hair salon suppliers. Again, this stuff will cause serious skin burns before you feel the damage it has done. Long cuff gloves, an apron or lab coat and proper splash protection goggles are strongly recommended. Oxalic acid removing the green from poplar was a great insight I would never have thought of. Looks like a good way to fake maple with poplar. It's certainly great at bleaching iron oxide stains. Laundry bleach damages wood in the same way that it damages clothing, so yeah, worthless for woodworking, but I do appreciate that you did the comparison. I wonder if a wood hardener application to the bleached red oak would make the appearance even closer to white oak.

[@3x3CustomTamar]

Thanks! Yeah! That would be interesting to test out regarding the red oak

[@SILENTIMACT74]

I appreciate the scientific measurement plan. It's very helpful and cost effective to your audience.

[@annmanzo]

would love to see the red oak samples like you did for the last three. I watched to see what I could do with my red oak unfinished cabinets.

[@MCsCreations]

Fantastic work, Tamar! Thanks a bunch for the comparison! 😃 There's another mixture I've seen before... I don't remember details right now, but you would mix white vinegar and steel wool in a bucket and leave it for some time... Then you filter it and apply to the wood. You know? But you should definitely research about it, because people also use it as an ebonising(?) solution, so... I don't really know. 😬 Anyway, stay safe there with your family! 🖖😊

[@3x3CustomTamar]

That does the opposite! That makes the wood black. Or blue in some cases

[@MCsCreations]

@@3x3CustomTamar Oh... I see!

[@onecalledchuck1664]

This was great. I used oxalic acid to restore an oak floor. It was a lot of work. Give ammonia fuming a try for a striking, more natural look than stains or dyes. Gustav Stickley made heavy use of the technique and it was marvelous on white oak. You would need to build a fume tent (5 mil plastic and a frame is good enough) and source 25-35% ammonia (blueprint supply shops/online chemical supply). Wood goes in the tent along with wide shallow bowls of the ammonia, fume until you reach the desired color. Definitely an outdoor project or power vented workshop.

[@Leolioness44]

Thanks for sharing, awesome demonstration of the use of different products and the effects on different wood

[@christopherbiomass7155]

I absolutely love it! Great process, and it didn't take a ton of time and money to provide empirical answers before potentially ruining a large project. I've been plagued by delays in making decisions for fear of damaging a project. Having hands-on data helps a ton with that anxiety.

[@3x3CustomTamar]

Glad you liked it!

[@markahrens2526]

Very cool and in-depth test and analysis - thanks!

[@DeeJayM-j9k]

Best video related to this topic I have seen. This was super useful. I'm so glad you shared. Thank you!

[@edualbergaria10]

The woodworking scientists are back! Loved.

[@3x3CustomTamar]

😂😂😂

[@darkknightnine]

For everyone: Whether its an acid or a base Tamar is right, add it in batches and add the chemical to the water. If you can't remember: "Acid to watta like you oughtta" :)

[@scottmorris4914]

Excellent video. I am finding, as I work on some projects, I need to do testing on each type of wood I use. And this includes fillers, and stains, and how they interact, etc. I bought a precut Tele guitar body, and now I wish I had just purchased a blank, so I would have had scrap to test how I want to finish it.

[@youtukang]

Hi friend,, sakam woodworkr 😊🤝

[@3x3CustomTamar]

Yup. Always test the wood you’re actually working with 👍

[@docgonzo3517]

your idea to mix the bleached walnut with regular so the grain matches and homogenous piece is great idea. I may do it in future project bleaching alongside ebonising it, I've done the latter on walnut and other tannin heavy woods before (with ferric acetate) but not tried bleaching.

[@3x3CustomTamar]

It would look very cool

[@alexcartwright4567]

I've been trying to find an effective way to bleach Florida Live Oak for some time, but without much success. I found this very useful and extremely timely, so thank you very much for giving me a few more ideas to try. BTW, woodworking community, forget using Live Oak for any project unless you are VERY fond of sharpening sawmill blades, chisels and pretty much everything that touches it! It's very pretty wood, though!

[@3x3CustomTamar]

Haha noted. Glad it was helpful!

[@NW-pt8zz]

You put a lot of effort in this video and did a very good job explaining. Thank you

[@3x3CustomTamar]

I appreciate that!

[@Joostje]

Wow. I don't like a white wash look, but you made this so interesting that my view on white wash has completely changed. Great job and absolutely great video!

[@3x3CustomTamar]

So glad you liked it! It was a fun experiment!

[@andrewtung1344]

Yeah, some of these really go above and beyond your normal "white wash" effect.

[@AzaB2C]

Cheers! Was looking how to make maple bone white. Neat comprehensive overview of finishes.

[@nathancooper9507]

I know I'm late to the party here, but you forgot to recap the red oak test pieces. You mentioned that the bleached red oak looked similar to the white oak and that got me excited. I love white oak, but it is too expensive and not readily available. So I was excited to see the bleach red oak next to the white oak. I suppose there is no way to see that now. BTW love you videos Tamar. Your doing God's work here!

[@stevebrown5656]

Same 😢

[@fmmlandlord3023]

Yes I rewatched the video multiple times trying to catch the red oak summary which was missed. Can you provide the summary in another video?

[@bethanyholbrook9850]

@@fmmlandlord3023 me too… I even searched her website in hopes of photos. I wish I knew what method she liked best for red oak. She held up a beautiful example at the end but I don’t know which method was used. Video please!! ❤

[@cindyjensen4881]

I thought I was keeping track of what she was saying until this issue. I wanted to see the red oak as well because I'm about to do this on an oak table. I'll try the bleach first, if it doesn't work I'll try the A/B. With the Polyx oil.

[@jolenemunford7952]

Did anyone ever figure this out? I watched the video several times to figure out where the Red oak samples went.

[@andrewavellino6427]

These are some really neat and interesting experiments! FYI Wenge looks amazing bleached, woodworkers source has a KZbin video on wenge where he bleached a Wenge plate he made and it looks great, with regular Clorox I might add. I'm aware that osmo sells colored hard wax/oils and I know they have a green tinted one so I wonder if that would improve the woods that turned out greenish? Like how the white pigmented osmo enhanced some of the woods, more experimentation needed!

[@3x3CustomTamar]

Yeah! I’ve seen wenge bleached. It looks very cool

[@2betterdays]

Super comparisons! You've helped me a ton. I know this took a lot of time to assemble

[@mojorizn72]

One of your best uploads. Thank you for all the effort.

[@3x3CustomTamar]

So awesome to hear!

[@gwbuilder5779]

Wood working chemistry 101 and you still found a way to add heat.🔥🔥🔥😜🤪😅🤣 Your conclusions are actually pretty universal. Occasionally you can find the anomaly, like the white wax finish on the walnut or the soft maple, but typically any kind of bleaching leaves the yellowy/green hue. I have even tried TSP paint wash, straight commercial grade hydrogen peroxide, and white vinegar in differing combinations with similar results. The other problem is that even if you do get a positive raw wood result, whatever finish you use ends up erasing those results anyway. Excellent lab experiment Tamar!👍 The best way to put product to the test on several types of wood and see the results with and without finish.👌

[@tomruth9487]

Gw Builder, I've never really had any great success with bleaching wood either. I mean wood tends to want to return back to the they color it was.

[@gwbuilder5779]

@@tomruth9487 I've been working with wood for about 50 years and what I do know is that living things tend to stay the same, especially when you are trying to remove or change the color. However, when it comes to adding different colors the results can be very unique. I have soaked wood in food coloring like you would a piece of celery and sometimes you get surprised by how the wood absorbs the color much like staining. Some wood readily accepts that color while others simply refuse. The soft maple was a great example of that, it reacted completely different than all the other wood varieties. How many times have you been staining a single piece of wood and part of it absorbs just the right amount, another part won't take any, and yet another part takes way too much. The natural resins, pitch, and dyes in the rings and spaces are definitely unique for sure. Many types of wood are even difficult to paint at all. Woodworking is always an adventure.

[@3x3CustomTamar]

Yeah. This was a lot of fun. Ha

[@paulbriggs3072]

If you bleach black walnut and sand it VERY lightly to make a BIT of color return, you can then stain it to look EXACTLY like golden butternut, or fine grained Honduras mahogany.

[@PRBB25]

That was a lot of work! Thank you for your time and effort it’s greatly appreciated. 👍

[@kiprobertson8165]

Excellent test and presentation. Saved me tons of effort and frustration.

[@3x3CustomTamar]

Glad to hear!

[@Kikilang60]

I wish you had tested pine. I think you can use multiple applications with some products.

[@Kikilang60]

Could you use Oxicilic acid to whiten the wood you turned green?

[@abydosianchulac2]

If you're ever interested in going the other way, look up harewood/airwood. It was an old process of "staining" wood (really reacting with the tannins in the woods) with ferrous sulfate to turn it bluish-grey. Maple species are classic, osage orange turns olive greenish, and in my experience Bradford pear looks almost turquoise in my experience.

[@3x3CustomTamar]

Yup! I’ve done it before! Steel wool and vinegar 👍

[@brianmoore3294]

Another great comparison test Tamar! Bleaching is such a great finish to be able to do but it always requires a lot of pretesting. Your video provides a lot of interesting data as a starting point. I also like the Osmo products but found they too take a lot of pre testing, especially the Wood Wax stain, in order to see consistent results.

[@3x3CustomTamar]

Yeah! I still feel like there’s so much more I could test with

[@BeckyStern]

So cool to watch these experiments. Thanks for sharing!

[@3x3CustomTamar]

Glad you think so!

[@hansning7924]

Incredibly thorough, thank you for this. I wonder the effects on other coniferous softwoods. Where I am, pine flooring is really popular. Dimensional lumber is also a popular budget building material, so it’d be interesting to see spruce lumber bleached. I may try bleaching the backside of my pine floors just to see if it even does anything. Lastly, the bleach came out uneven, but I wonder if the drying did anything. Also, would multiple coats make it more even? I imagine it would.

[@3x3CustomTamar]

Yeah… I knew I wanted a hardwood. So I didn’t even test those. But I would imagine it would be like the poplar since the process reacts with natural tannins in the wood

[@user-es7vl1ik6r]

Thanks for the video. It'll be a good reference in the future. I have a lot of wood swatches laying around my shop with different finishes; glad I don't need to make a dozen more for bleaching.

[@3x3CustomTamar]

Haha! Glad you liked it!

[@runwaylyghtsdebbiep.2349]

Just purchased an old house. The cabinets and everything is in great shape but...I want to modernize the all the cabinets. Should I sand the old 1960 Scheirich "bronze glow" birch cabinets or try to bleach them? A lot of cabinets! Bathrooms and kitchen! Any advice is greatly appreciated Thank you!!!

[@hugh.mcmath5976]

Awesome experiment! It’s really cool to see the different ways the wood reacts to a different materials! Did you try as an afterthought putting the oxalic acid onto some of the woods that actually got the green because of the finishes? Just curious if that would change things…

[@3x3CustomTamar]

That would be interesting to see for sure!

[@roar6428]

Loved the video. In your opinion, what combination of bleaching and finish produced the best look for red oak to match white oak?

[@willjosephson]

This is fascinating. I'm curious if you could remove the green from wood-bleached wood with a second treatment of oxalic acid. Thank you for taking all the time to do this.

[@3x3CustomTamar]

That is definitely an interesting thought and something to test for sure!

[@twobluestripes]

Might be especially helpful on the white oak!!

[@SB-rc4uz]

Came across your in-depth experiment while researching finishes for lightening ash and white oak prior to using osmo white wax. Wanted to say this is hand's down the best review I've seen so really appreciate your attention to detail. Q. I've not been able to source Hydrogen Peroxide in 27% concentration here in Canada. The strongest I can find is 12%. Do you think I can do a 2:1 (HP/SH) mix to achieve similar results to yours?

[@tungsten_carbide]

Hi, I've watched your videos for a few years now but I think this is my first time commenting. What you related about what you'd read and what results you actually got makes this particularly valuable, but also so frustrating because it's a reminder about all that confusing noise out there on this 📶and just about any other topic related to woodworking it seems! I wanted to say something specifically about what to do after using oxalic because this is a pet peeve of mine - In reality you _do not_ need to neutralise after using oxalic, you only need to rinse. I'm not at all surprised the on-pack instructions said to neutralise using borax given the brand since that company isn't exactly a paragon of veracity! But all professionals who were trained properly rinse only, either rinsing three times with fresh water each time, or with abundant running water (under a tap or with a hose) if that's practical for the project. You're only seeking to get rid of the excess oxalic here because it's an irritant not make the wood surface neutral; that is actually impossible to do perfectly anyway, no matter what alkali you use. Directly related you do not need to neutralise various alkalis using vinegar (no matter what the Internet says LOL) in part because again it's not possible to do perfectly anyway. Hope this helps. Thanks for all the great content, keep up the good work!

[@3x3CustomTamar]

👍👍 thanks for the info!

[@russmartin4189]

I''ve heard a number of people say Odie's Oil is a great finish. This video is a definite bookmark!!!

[@3x3CustomTamar]

👍

[@p.hughes1011]

Great information and loved the different top finished but did I miss the results for red oak? It's the wood I need answers for!

[@LuminousLioness]

Very thorough! Thank you so much. Was the red oak comparison missed at the end though? I suspect my hardwood floors were this wood so it was a particular interest.

[@H2Dwoat]

Hi, thanks for this. This is exactly the reason I first signed up for KZbin. A well put together video that saves me having to reinvent the wheel. I’m looking to get a driftwood finish and whilst this isn’t exactly the same it definitely gives me a great starting point. KZbin only allows me to give one thumbs up so have a few more 👍👍👍👍👍.

[@3x3CustomTamar]

Awesome. Glad it was helpful!

[@shareefgolden]

I just did the homemade mix. Shyts legit. Worked so well. I have before and after if anyone needs the assurance.

[@3x3CustomTamar]

Awesome

[@jimbryant2157]

I will have to remember the trick with the acid and poplar. I like using poplar (both cost and ease of working with it), but I am not a fan of the green. Thanks for all your work and clear explanations!

[@3x3CustomTamar]

Glad that was helpful!

[@bobh64]

Neat video, liked your thought with the Walnut.

[@3x3CustomTamar]

Thanks!