Bring on the bleach...

I decided a while ago that I wasn't too keen on the colour of the Iroko we used for the bench frame. It's a sandy colour when you first cut it (which is fine) but over time darkens to quite a dark brown (which isn't). Not in my line of sight anyway! It's usual to then finish it with Danish oil, which gives the wood a golden tinge - again a no-go for me. So I decided to bleach it with a special wood bleach and then wax.



It's a bit of a faff - apply Bleach A, wait half an hour, apply bleach B, wait a couple of hours, if not light enough apply bleach B again, wait another few hours and so on. Then, wash down with a weak vinegar solution to neutralize. Then wash down with water. Then wait 72 hours. Then sand. You get the picture. So that was last weekend pretty much spoken for. It took a few coats of bleach to get the colour to lift sufficiently but I'm really pleased with the result.