Bleaching Pine Wood Furniture – 5 Easy Steps

Although it has a unique beauty, pine wood is soft and can easily be damaged.

This means natural color variations and day-to-day elements like ink, water, or grease stains can make the dark knotty pine wood finish unattractive.

And for this reason, even your lighter-colored pine wood furniture pieces can become dingy and dark over time.

If you’re considering updating the look of your furniture and improving its appearance by evening out the color or removing a stain, using bleach is one the best solutions.

But the question that comes to most minds will be whether it is safe to bleach pine wood, what bleaching agents to use, and how to get the wood bleached correctly without damaging its natural beauty.

Let’s try to answer those questions here in this article.

How to Bleach Pine?

Not only to brighten furniture but bleaching can also be used for evening out the color if the piece is made with two different types of wood.

Depending on the bleach you choose, it will do an excellent job of lightening the darker wood, which matches perfectly with the lighter one.

Here’s a step-by-step process on how to achieve the best results…

Step 1 – Be Safe When Bleaching

Please remember that bleaching agents are corrosive and should be handled with great care. So, read the instructions and package warnings on the wood-bleaching product before beginning.

Also, working in an area with good ventilation, keeping windows open and fans running, if possible, is ideal.

Do not forget to protect yourself by wearing gloves, long pants, sleeves, a dust mask, and safety goggles.

Furthermore, you should note that the bleach could ruin any surface it comes into contact with.

So, apply the bleach carefully to prevent it from splashing onto your skin or other surfaces you want to protect. And to avoid damage to containers, use glass or ceramic containers instead of metal ones.

Step 2 – Choose the Bleach for Wood

There are different types of bleach products for wood treatment available.

It’s best to do some research beforehand to figure out which will work best for your needs.

Two-part bleach

Opt for a two-part bleach consisting of sodium hydroxide and hydrogen peroxide to remove or lighten the natural colors from pine quickly.

You can apply this method more than once, progressively making the wood lighter.

Chlorine bleach

If your primary concern is removing dyes from juice spills or ink marks from pine wood, chlorine bleach will do the job.

It’s much like an ordinary laundry bleach and will help remove the dye stains from wood without affecting its natural color.

Use this product sparingly and cautiously, as the chlorine bleach can destroy lignin (a component of wood that hardens and strengthens its cell walls) and can lose the wood structure’s integrity leaving it damaged soon.

Oxalic acid bleach

Oxalic acid crystals in hot water can bleach out dark stains on your wood furniture or floors that may be formed due to moisture penetration.

It also helps in restoring the natural color of weather-aged wood that has turned gray from exposure to sunlight.

Step 3 – Prepare the Pine Wood

Once you’ve decided on a product you want to use, remove any existing finish before applying the treatment and take apart as much of the woodwork as possible to simplify the job.

This means if you are bleaching pine cabinets, remove the doors, drawers, and all the hardware. And if stripping walls or paneling, remember to take down the trims.

Then use a paint stripper or sandpaper to strip the paint finish from the wood. If sanding knots out of pine paneling, it’s best to use a rotary tool with a detailing brush and sandpaper.

Since you can only bleach unfinished wood, you’ll probably have to strip and sand the wood extensively.

Step 4 – Remove Stains from the Wood

The wood stain removal process with laundry bleach or chlorine bleach is easy…

• Fill a glass jar with regular laundry bleach.
• Apply the bleaching solution to the pine surface in small areas with a paintbrush.
• Reapply every few minutes or as necessary to keep the wood moistened. This will prevent premature absorption and ensure even lightening.
• After 20-30 minutes have passed, rinse off the area neutralizing the bleaching effect by mixing equal parts vinegar and hot water.
• Repeat this process once the wood is completely dry if further cleaning is desired.

Step 5 – Lighten the Dark Pine Wood

Two-part wood bleaches can easily be used to lighten the natural color of your wood. They have a part A, sodium hydroxide, and Part B, hydrogen peroxide.

Depending on the product you get, you might be able to mix the parts before using the bleach, so make sure to read the label.

If the product you’re using doesn’t recommend mixing, use a sponge to apply part A followed by part B immediately. If you wait before applying part B, the sodium hydroxide may darken some parts of the wood.

If the bleaching product needs mixing beforehand, only mix it when ready to use it on the wood and use the product immediately after mixing.

In most cases, one bleach treatment will be sufficient though you can always do a second coat if you want a lighter color finish.

Finishing and Sealing the Bleached Pine Wood

Finishing the bleached pine with a sealer is optional, but I recommend it to protect the furniture and give it a nice sheen.

You can finish it with a water-based polyurethane or a very thin coat of shellac.

Alternatively, you can apply a wood wax like carnauba wax for the soft matte sheen on your pine furniture.

Since the water used during the bleaching process raises the wood grains, start by lightly sanding the wood using fine-grit sandpaper to remove furry wood grain and create a smooth surface for getting the finish right.

Once done, you can use the sprayer to apply a thin coat of sealer on the light-colored bleached wood.

The bottom line

Woodworkers, painters, as well as DIYers frequently use bleach to remove stains and revive the appearance of their wood furniture.

There are different types of bleach, namely chlorine, two-part wood bleach, oxalic acid, and peroxide.

While two-part bleach changes the coloration of the wood itself, the latter works to eliminate existing stains.

No matter which wood bleaching product you choose, always follow the safety precautions on the label to ensure you use it correctly and safely on your pine furniture, cabinets, panels, or other pieces.