Removing stain(dye) from plywood

[randythewoodchuck]

I have a plywood cabinet that I am trying to strip and refinish. I've removed the varnish, but the plywood maintains a stain color that my wife finds repugnant. I'm sure that there must be a way to bleach out the color, but received varying answers when I googled it. Is there a relatively simple way to bleach the color out of the plywood?

[garys]

You will probably never get all the old stain out, but you can remove a lot of it with ordinary household bleach. I use bleach when refinishing old furniture to remove old stains that otherwise won''t come out.

[dgale]

You will probably never get all the old stain out, but you can remove a lot of it with ordinary household bleach. I use bleach when refinishing old furniture to remove old stains that otherwise won''t come out.

Would you recommend diluting the bleach? I'd never really thought of bleaching wood but I imagine it would help to some degree. I'd think you'd start with it diluted and increase strength as needed to see if stronger bleach helps. I'd also recommend trying a hidden area first to make sure it doesn't alter the wood overall in an undesired way. My guess is this is a tough fix - stain soaks in and plywood in general is fairly porous, so I'm guessing the only options at this point short of living with it as is are a darker stain or painting the item...

[garys]

For plywood, it would be good to start with diluted bleach. My Wife and I found some old heavy duty oak chairs some years ago. They were used in a school or library environment, and some of them had very bad ink stains from ink spilled into the oak. These chairs were solid oak, so she used 100% bleach on the wood after stripping all old finish. All the old stains disappeared. On plywood, you need to be more cautious as you are working on a thin veneer. Try diluted bleach first, and test it first on a place you don't see. Then if it looks promising, put the same mix on evenly over a full panel at a time. The bleach will have to be removed with some water after use to keep it from drying into the wood and leaving the white residue that bleach leaves behind.

[skou]

Bleach may not work on all stains. If I remember correctly, it will only work on organic stains. (Blood, grass, stains from something that was alive.) It won't work on rust stains, or Hawaiian red dirt stains, (which would be rust, too.)

Like other say, try a diluted bleach solution first. Bleach may also affect the glue under the top layer of wood, too.

steve

[randythewoodchuck]

Thank you all for responding. Now, how to apply the bleach. Do I brush it on, apply it with a cloth, or could I put the solution is a spray bottle and apply it that way?

[dgale]

Thank you all for responding. Now, how to apply the bleach. Do I brush it on, apply it with a cloth, or could I put the solution is a spray bottle and apply it that way?

I'd probably suggest the spray bottle route for starters and see how it goes. Seems like the spray bottle would be the most controlled method in terms of keeping the bleach solution where you want it. One thing about using bleach - beware the overspray/drips/spills etc. and wear clothes you could care less about and use drop clothes etc.

[pennview]

If household bleach doesn't fix the problem, you can also try oxalic acid, which may be sold as "wood bleach," which comes in a powder that you mix with water. Or, there is two-part wood bleach, where the bleaching agent is hydrogen peroxide, but in a much high concentration than sold in the pharmacy. Pay close attention to the warning label on either of these two products.

[algale]

Pool store "shock" is calcium hypochlorite, which turns to chlorine, i.e. bleach, in water. You can use a small amount and get enough concentration to work. Household bleach is generally too little concentration to be effective.

[dan1999]

I agree with the bleaching mix it with about 50% water and spray it on lightly, remember the veneer ply on plywood is generally around 1/32 of an inch if you put on too much it will pop like an onion. Apply a bit wait 10 minutes and do it again, by the way what colour is the stain that you are trying to remove? If it is a commercial stain the reactive agent to move it is minerals spirits (varsol).

Once you have remove part of it I suggest that you take a rag and use lacquer thinner, it kills off any reside of the stripping agent so that when you apply a new finish the stripping agent will not malform the new coating that you are putting on.

I also like the Idea Pennview suggested, again at the end use lacquer thinner to remove the agent. Lacquer thinner will leave no lasting after effect it is just like a new piece of plywood.

Happy stripping