DIYbanter - View Single Post

wrote:
What's a "stain" here ? A dark coating applied to oak in 1925 is quite
possibly a deliberate attempt to darken it, to comply with the then
fashionable "stockbroker jacobean" and a mistaken idea that furniture of
the period had always been near black.

Yes, when I referred to stained oak, I meant that the stain was an
intentional finish and it your description and opinion seems spot-on.

But however mistaken the cabinet maker's intentions were, I'd like to
return it to that finish as it matches other items made by the same
person at the same time.

At the moment, most of the surface is stained in that Jacobean colour,
but areas that get worn have acquired a more natural medium oak colour.

If you're after a darker (but not black) finish that evens up pale areas
of wear, consider ammonia fuming it.

Is that the sort of thing that an amateur can do with some expectation
of succeeding ?

If the Jacobean look has been put over a previous finish, it may well
wipe off with meths or white spirit. See if any colour comes off on a
kitchen towel.

You could try bleaching, and any one of 3 methods might (or might not)
work.
Ordinary domestic bleach (not the thick versions) will remove some types
of dye.
Ecover laundry bleach (Waitrose etc) is an oxygen bleach that generates
peroxide and will reverse most chemical discolouration.
Oxalic acid (part of the Liberon range, or buy some decking cleaner)

Ammonia fuming is not really a practical proposition unless you can
construct some kind of airtight tent and place a bowl of it in there
overnight. Even ordinary household ammonia will blow your head off if
you try brushing it on. A mild solution of caustic soda or washing soda
achieves pretty much the same thing. Alkalis darken the wood but don't
generally affect a colour applied to it.