How would i lighten this wood without sanding?

[linds_saun]

Hi all, 

Im hoping to take this orange tint out of the wood, I think it has an oil stain on previously. 

anybody know if I can lighten it to an Ash colour without sanding? 

 

[brendawebster44]

I am definitely no expert on many things but I do spend too much time in Bunnings. My friend brought me a set of drawers from the side of the road (he knows I like to potter.Anyway the colour of the wood was yuk so I bought some light sand paper used very lightly and sanded all over brushed it off and bleached the darn thing with some wood bleach to the colour I wanted, what an improvement. The tele is on it now in my bedroom b

[Nailbag]

Hi @linds_saun 

Unfortunately the only way to lighten the timber is to either sand it right back to the raw timber or apply a primer and paint it as the darker colour will always bleed through. The high polished oil/varnish thats on the timber now means that nothing you directly apply will stick directly to it.

Regards, Nailbag  

[EricL]

Hello @linds_saun 

Welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community. It's sensational to have you join us and thanks for sharing your question about lightening the colour of your timber trims.

It's great that you've received excellent advice from @brendawebster44 and @Nailbag. I'm sorry, but I'm afraid there is no escape from sanding your timber surface. To make the job go faster, I suggest using an electric sander. Once all the old sealer has been removed you can then choose from the stain and varnish sets available at the store.

Here is a sample of the Cabot's colours:

If you need further assistance, please let us know.

Eric

[Nailbag]

Hi @linds_saun should you choose to go down the sander route, then I would recommend a "Random Orbit Sander" as these offer a very efficient sanding system in either electric or battery power. This job will take some time, so an Electric one would be best. Start with an 80G paper to get most of the stain out, then move to 120G and 180G or 240G and finish all edges by hand. Getting in the corners either with a sanding block by hand or a detail sander.

regards Nailbag

[linds_saun]

Thanks Brenda, I will give that a try 👍🏻