You can bleach furniture yourself with this tutorial.
You probably have old wooden furniture that needs a little refresh. Instead of reaching for a re-stain or a fresh coat of paint, open your cleaning cupboard and grab the bleach! Furniture bleaching will bring out the natural beauty of the piece! This simple technique will transform the wood tones right before your eyes and give it a crisp and clean look.
DIYer Michelle Hinckley did the wood bleaching homework for us, and shared everything she learned along the way.
“It’s tricker on furniture pieces that have both horizontal and vertical surfaces (like a chair!) because the bleach dries at different rates, thus producing an uneven color of wood,” Michelle said. Bleaching works well on wooden benches and tables.
Michelle said that furniture bleaching only works on sanded furniture. Sand your wooden piece, brush the bleach on, and let the magic happen! After bleaching, Michelle recommended letting it sit out in the sun to accelerate the bleaching process.
Make sure to test on a small, inconspicuous area before you bleach the entire project to make sure you like the color tone that bleaching will produce.
Furniture Bleaching Step-By-Step
1. Clean the wood
Remove hardware that could be damaged with bleach. Sand the piece down to bring it to natural wood. If there is just stain, you can use a hand sander. If there are several layers of paint on the piece, go for a paint stripping product before sanding. Remove the extra dust with a cloth.
2. Bleach the wood
For this step, you can use a wood bleach solution or just basic household bleach, like Clorox.
Michelle tried both bleach products and got different results. Using the two-step solution, Michelle got a lighter and brighter finished product than that of just Clorox bleach.
Michelle cautioned that you want to get the wood a couple shades blonder than your desired finished product, as applying a finish typically darkens the wood a couple shades.
Pour a small amount of bleach directly on the wood. Using a paintbrush, paint in the same direction of the wood grain. Continue applying bleach until you reach a couple shades lighter than your desired color.
3. Let it dry
Michelle recommended letting the project dry in the sunshine to speed up your drying time. Once it’s dry, if you don’t like the finished tone, sand it and try again! The bleach only sinks into the top layer, so you can go back and give it another go without ruining the finished project.
4. Apply a sealant
Add a wood protectant or sealant to seal off your project.
Find more inspiration from Michelle on Instagram @4men1ladyblog.
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