I've used oxalic acid on oak flooring, but not on cedar. The result that I
got wasn't very favorable as it somewhat changed the texture of the wood
where it had been treated. It lightened the stain, but also changed the wood
texture so that it took stain different than the untreated area. I ended up
re-sanding the whole surface, then treated the stained area again, then I
put on a second coat of acid, but this time I treated the whole surface.
After that the staining process was much more even, but still not perfect. I
think if I was doing it all over again I wouldn't use the acid at all. I
would just sand the surface more to get as much stain out as possible and
then use a darker stain to hide what was left. It would have been and easier
job that way.

--
Charley


"Abe" wrote in message
oups.com...
I'm refinishing a solid cedar chest that is probably 90 years old.
I've stripped the original finish and have sanded the entire thing a
couple times. The wood is mostly in good shape, but there are what
appear to be some water stains on the top. I want to minimize these
as much as possible. I've heard oxalic acid will help remove the
stains.

Also, I was advised that some careful application of light or diluted
stain could help even out the color on top. If so, what type of stain
would be best for cedar? I know cedar isn't usually stained, but in
the interest of cleaning up the discoloration. I still want it to
look like cedar of course, but my tastes prefer darker cedar over
light.

So my questions a

1) Can anyone confirm that oxalic acid is worth a try, and that it
won't harm unfinished wood?

2) What type of stain should I use on cedar to hide some of the
discoloration? Or is this a bad idea all around?

abe