How to fix yellowed Oak dining suite?

[davalli]

I have an Oak Dining suite which has gone very yellow. It catches the sun early morning which I'm guessing has caused the problem. Is there any way to lighten or whiten it without sanding the table and six chairs (with lots of spindles).  I don't know what varnish/coating is on the timber. I love the whitewashed look but don't want to go to all that trouble for it to go yellow again.  Any  suggestions?

[Akanksha]

A warm welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community, @davalli. We're delighted to have you join us and look forward to seeing and assisting you with your D.I.Y. projects around the home and garden.

Thanks for your question about your dining suite. I'm sure our resident D.I.Y. expert @EricL will be happy to assist once he's back online later today. In the meantime, let me also call upon @Jewelleryrescue, @inspiredbycoast and @LorenaDIYS for their thoughts. 

Akanksha

[Jason]

Welcome to Bunnings Workshop @davalli. It's wonderful to have you join the community. Please feel free to post anytime you need a hand with a project around the house or garden. We're here to help.

One of our resident Bunnings D.I.Y. experts will share their thoughts with you as soon as possible. In the meantime, let me tag a few of our experienced furniture upcyclers on the community to see how they would tackle this challenge: 

@LorenaDIYS, @lifestylebymari, @H3nna, @JoeAzza, @daniknight4     

Jason

[inspiredbycoast]

Hi,

I generally would sand it however give it a really good clean down using sugar soap and warm water first. 

Then try a test of Feast Watson's "liming white" on a leg. 

It's a white stain / vanish and may help to tone out the yellow. 

[EricL]

Hello @davalli 

I'm afraid sanding is a necessary step when painting or coating timber furniture. Painting, coating or sealing over old paint or sealers is not recommended as the results will often be unfavourable. The paint or sealer will flake, crack or come up patchy instead of having a smooth uniform finish.

To expedite the sanding process, I highly recommend investing in an electric sander, cordless or corded the choice is up to you. The best part about the electric sander is that they come with a paper sanding set already included. It's often more than enough to do a single timber furniture such as a table or chair.

A clear satin or matt finish will help reduce the glare coming from your window. I propose using a water-based sealer rather than oil-based. Oil-based sealers tend to yellow with age due to its composition. In regards to putting a white finish on the table, I recommend having a look at Feast Watson 1L Satin Liming White Stain And Varnish.

A technique you can try is to sand the top surface of the table only leaving everything else as is. Cover the sides of the table with masking tape so that it will not get accidentally sanded and you know where to stop. Once sanded and clean you can then apply the Liming White to the top surface only.

Another option is to use Sheer Curtains to diffuse and lessen the glare of the sun onto the table. 

If you have any other questions we can help with, please let us know.

Eric

[JoeAzza]

Hi @davalli, @EricL , @inspiredbycoast  are right , the only way is the sand and recoat the table, also try to reduce the sunlight hitting the furniture, it’s the UV rays that is making it go yellow. If you don’t like sanding try this product ESP surface prep, it won’t hit rid of the yellowing, you can use this only if you want to paint over the table in a different colour

https://www.bunnings.com.au/flood-500ml-esp-easy-surface-paint-preparation_p1566526
I have used this product many times over varnished doors, colourbond, and upcycled furniture’s 

The tops were sanded and decorated, the sides and drawers were prepared using the ESP product

[H3nna]

Hi @davalli 

The best result will come with sanding. There are paint striper you can find from Bunnings that you might be able to use. Can't wait to see the results

Henna