I've got an oak fireplace surround which has been stained.
Is it possible to remove the satin by chemical dipping?

wrote:

I've got an oak fireplace surround which has been stained.
Is it possible to remove the satin by chemical dipping?

Not really, unless it is the sort of stain that is integral with
varnish/poly or the stain has gone on over a sealing coat of say sanding
sealer. Most stain is designed to penetrate the wood. Short of sanding
it away you may need to bleach the wood with a proprietary wood bleach
after stripping it.

What sort of finished effect do you want to achieve and how dark is the
original stain?

Peter
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www.the-brights.net

Peter Ashby wrote:
wrote:

I've got an oak fireplace surround which has been stained.
Is it possible to remove the satin by chemical dipping?

Not really, unless it is the sort of stain that is integral with
varnish/poly or the stain has gone on over a sealing coat of say sanding
sealer. Most stain is designed to penetrate the wood. Short of sanding
it away you may need to bleach the wood with a proprietary wood bleach
after stripping it.

IME peroxide doesn't touch most stains. Try meths or white spirit on a
sheet of kitchen roll. If any of the colour comes off you might be in
with a chance of at least weakening the shade to a more acceptable level.

What sort of finished effect do you want to achieve and how dark is the
original stain?

Peter

On 21 May, 14:10, wrote:
I've got an oak fireplace surround which has been stained.
Is it possible to remove the satin by chemical dipping?

Probably not. Depends on what the "stain" was. It's a heathen
practice to stain oak anyway - there are better ways to darken it if
that's what was originally wanted. You might try an oxalic acid bleach
(NB oxalic acid), which will somewhat lighten the oak itself. The rest
depends on what sort of stain had been used.