Thread: Bleached Sheoak?

sheoak wine rack top sorry photo not to good

I actually like the idea of bleaching and then dying with an over the top colour. Could look pretty interesting. Might play around with some Forest Oak on the weekend

Did anyone get around to bleaching their sheoak ? Like to see a pic if you've got one on hand (don't go out of your way though. just curious)

I'm considering it at the moment.

And what product would you buy ?

thanks

G'day ripper. It's been a while since I've been on this thread. I still haven't bleached any she oak yet I've been real busy moving and finding a new shed. I'm still very interested in seeing the outcome though.

Originally Posted by tea lady

I think Its legitimate to want to bleach whatever. Its only wood. If you want a certain look you try for a certain look.

Give yerself an uppercut TL!

If you want that look use timber that will give that look from the outset or use a synthetic covering.

Originally Posted by spencer411

G'day ripper. It's been a while since I've been on this thread. I still haven't bleached any she oak yet I've been real busy moving and finding a new shed. I'm still very interested in seeing the outcome though.

Hey mate.

I'm keen to find out. For me the grains way too busy over a broad area....thin lean components look good in sheoak imo though.

I've got a sheoak stool finished, and with it finely sanded and burnished its beautiful imo as is. Whitish bleeched look already, ready for me to #### it up with a bloody finish ( joking, I won't #### it up ) but as soon as the finish goes down, it gets too loud very quickly. ....just the seat top looks loud. The legs and stretchers look nice imo with a regular finish imo . but thats all just another opinion....like arseholes uno sorry.

Thought maybe interested in a quick experiment I just did on some scrap.. Took a photo and took notes on it before I forgot. attached.

Feeling at the moment. that for furniture that isn't in full light, it looks best as light as possible. as soon as an oil like linseed oil gets in it, it start looking too muddy and busy imo. But haven't tried it on a piece yet.

So is the left the bleached and right natural? What did u use to bleach it. Perhaps a soap finish would be good on it so it keeps it's colour.

I agree with you, Jake - the Casaurinas can certainly be a bit overwhelming in large doses, and particularly when they come in strong colours. Quite a few chairmakers eschew highly figured woods because it can distract from the component lines, which are what makes stick chairs special, IMO, so I see no harm in calming things down a little.

I made a set of simple kitchen-table chairs using River Oak for the spindles & Jacaranda for the seats & backs. The Oak was a young tree & the wood is very pale - you can't see any transition from sap to heart, and there were just a few streaks of blackish-brown near the very heart of some of it. I think it was just right for the job, and teamed up with the Jacaranda well enough (it was also a lot easier to turn than really mature stuff can be). They were finished with a mix of poly/oil/turps (the poly to give them a bit more water resistance in view of their intended use) which has changed the original colour little & stood up well for about 5 years, now.

You can (should) be critical of the design - the spindles are too heavy, & I didn't cut back the under-sides of the seats enough, so they look a bit clunky to me. I hadn't made any chairs for a while when I did those, & normally I'd have roughed up a prototype to get the look where I wanted it, but these were made in a hurry & I skipped that step. Serves me right, 'cos I have to live with them. Dontcha just hate it when you have to look at a piece of furniture that you aren't quite happy with, every day ?!

Cheers,

Originally Posted by IanW

Dontcha just hate it when you have to look at a piece of furniture that you aren't quite happy with, every day ?!

Cheers,

Careful, this is what leads to divorces ...

Originally Posted by spencer411

So is the left the bleached and right natural? What did u use to bleach it. Perhaps a soap finish would be good on it so it keeps it's colour.

yep. sorry. The left side is bleach. Then I tried running a couple of finishes I had on hand over it .

Nearly bought some woodworking bleach from a place down south somewhere (find it if interested) But for 1litre total after postage it would have hit near 50 bucks.

So, I did as suggested here somewhere. Drain cleaner (sodium hyrdoxide) and spa cleaner from pool shop (hyrdrogen peroxide....don't know how anyone can work in a pool shop....feel itchy soon as I walk in)

Don't know about soap finish.

apparently too much bleaching can kill the depth of the finish...

Hi Ian, like the look of the riveroak in the spindles and legs.

Originally Posted by IanW

They were finished with a mix of poly/oil/turps (the poly to give them a bit more water resistance in view of their intended use) which has changed the original colour little & stood up well for about 5 years, now.

,

I been doing the poly/oil/turps thing too , but find the oil darkens the grain too much. But maybe its eye of the beholder sort of thing. Or maybe its the timber growth type. anycase been putting shellac sealer under lately to minimise as much as possible

Originally Posted by apricotripper

.......
I been doing the poly/oil/turps thing too , but find the oil darkens the grain too much. But maybe its eye of the beholder sort of thing. Or maybe its the timber growth type. anycase been putting shellac sealer under lately to minimise as much as possible

I think it's the timber, Jake. Some woods really darken, but lighter woods seem to respond less. There is virtually no slap-on finish that doesn't change the colour/shade to some extent. If you can get hold of tung based oils, they are supposed to darken less than oils based on linseed. I have used tung only a couple of times, and it did seem that it didn't cause the darkening of linseed oils, but given that this limited experience was with non-Aussie woods, I can't comment on local species. I use 'superblonde' shellac when I want minimal colour change, too.....

Cheers,

Originally Posted by IanW

I think it's the timber, Jake. ,

I'd say your right. Have a good weekend.