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Wood bleach and Holly

Joined
Jul 1, 2004
Messages
61
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2
Location
Claxton, Georgia
I have a holly vessel that I have turned that had already stained before I turned it. If I use wood bleach on it will it bleach the holly back to the typical white color of holly? Or would I be better off leaving it as is.

Stacey
 
Stained with what? If it's mildew, bleach should take care of it. Works less well with stains from spalting fungi. The sugar (caramel?) stains that come out when green wood is spun are best washed, sanded and washed, in my experience.
 
If it's a bluish Green then it's probably from high sap and or mineral. I haven't done it myself but I'm told it bleaches out pretty easy. Brian
 
I recently bleached a holly vase that had turned blue/green, and it came out several shades lighter - almost pure white. I used the Kleen-Strip 2-part bleach, and gave it 2 treatments. I'm very happy with the results. It did raise the grain, so it's a good idea to raise the grain first and resand before bleaching. The bleaching doesn't go too deep, so be careful when you're sanding.

Scott
 
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