On Tue, 3 Aug 2004 20:49:09 -0400, "David"
wrote:

I tried oxalic acid on the dark reddish stain on my old round oak table

Oxalic acid doesn't work on red stains. Its action is on the metal
tannates that cause so much trouble with oak, and those are either
blue or black.

You can use any bleach on any timber, so if it's ink or something than
a peroxide or a hypochlorite bleach might just work. The compatibility
issues are about the types of colour you're addressing, and
possibility preserving some inherent colour of the timber. The "wrong"
bleach won't fail, it will just not work on that stain.
--
Smert' spamionam