Holly and Bleaching Question

[JD Combs Sr]

Just finished looking at Jim Mahan's(jimm1) "Eagles" thread where he used some extremely white Holly wood.

I have some Holly but it is not nearly as white plus it has some graying in it, I was wondering if there was a way to bleach it to get it whiter. Has anyone had any experience bleaching wood?

I Would appreciate any and all comments on the subject.

 

[carlmorrell]

I have been very successful with bleaching wood.

The first time, I made a table out of ash, bleached and white stain. It came out really white.

A years ago, I saw a pic on this forum of bleached wenge. Tried it myself and got really good results.

I used a two-part product that I picked up at HomeDepot.

 

[JD Combs Sr]

I have been very successful with bleaching wood.
The first time, I made a table out of ash, bleached and white stain. It came out really white.
A years ago, I saw a pic on this forum of bleached wenge. Tried it myself and got really good results.
I used a two-part product that I picked up at HomeDepot.

Thanks Carl, do you recall the name of the bleaching product?

 

[carlmorrell]

JD,

When this subject came up last year, I pulled out my really old stuff from the ash table. Was surprised it still worked, since it was probably 15 years old. I was disappointed to find out the exact product I used was no longer sold locally.

However, there still seem to be some two-part wood bleach products. No personal experience. The old stuff I used was marketed by Parks. The MSDS shows sodium hydroxide, and hydrogen peroxide.

 

[JD Combs Sr]

JD,

When this subject came up last year, I pulled out my really old stuff from the ash table. Was surprised it still worked, since it was probably 15 years old. I was disappointed to find out the exact product I used was no longer sold locally.

However, there still seem to be some two-part wood bleach products. No personal experience. The old stuff I used was marketed by Parks. The MSDS shows sodium hydroxide, and hydrogen peroxide.

Thanks Carl, appreciate your response, I will do a little web surfing and see what I can find.

 

[The Penguin]

if you're an AAW member, there's an article in Feb 2013 journal (I think that the right month) about wood bleaching.

most of the commercial bleaching kits are no longer sold, but you can acquire components very easy:

100% pure lye (sodium hydroxide) available at any hardware store as "drain cleaner" (about $6)
water
27% hydrogen peroxide - available at some pool supply stores under brand name "Bacquacil" - you'll need "Step 2" (about $18/gallon)

I believe the steps go like this:
measure out 1 cup water into a glass container with a non-metallic lid. Add 1 TBSP lye. Close lid - shake well. Lye must be completely dissolved. Label jar "Caustic" - store it away from children.

Put on personal protective equipment - rubber gloves, old clothing with long sleeves, face shield, etc.

pour out just enough lye mix into a bowl, and brush onto the wood you want bleached

pour out a small of hydrogen peroxide in a bowl. brush it onto the wood immediately after the lye mix.

it will foam up. let dry, repeat several times until desired effect is reached.

lye on the dried bleached wood should then neutralized with white vinegar.



I have done this recently on a piece of holly. left side was bleached, right half is natural. Note that the bleaching is limited to the wood surface (maybe 1/32" penetration) - so you need to have turned to near your final shape, and done most sanding before you start bleaching

 

[JD Combs Sr]

if you're an AAW member, there's an article in Feb 2013 journal (I think that the right month) about wood bleaching.
most of the commercial bleaching kits are no longer sold, but you can acquire components very easy:
100% pure lye (sodium hydroxide) available at any hardware store as "drain cleaner" (about $6) water
27% hydrogen peroxide - available at some pool supply stores under brand name "Bacquacil" - you'll need "Step 2" (about $18/gallon)
I believe the steps go like this:
measure out 1 cup water into a glass container with a non-metallic lid. Add 1 TBSP lye. Close lid - shake well. Lye must be completely dissolved. Label jar "Caustic" - store it away from children.
Put on personal protective equipment - rubber gloves, old clothing with long sleeves, face shield, etc.
pour out just enough lye mix into a bowl, and brush onto the wood you want bleached
pour out a small of hydrogen peroxide in a bowl. brush it onto the wood immediately after the lye mix.
it will foam up. let dry, repeat several times until desired effect is reached.
lye on the dried bleached wood should then neutralized with white vinegar.
I have done this recently on a piece of holly. left side was bleached, right half is natural. Note that the bleaching is limited to the wood surface (maybe 1/32" penetration) - so you need to have turned to near your final shape, and done most sanding before you start bleaching

Thanks Shawn, the right half of your pic looks kind of like my Holly. Will look into the ingredients.

 

[toddlajoie]

I have been very successful with bleaching wood.

The first time, I made a table out of ash, bleached and white stain. It came out really white.

A years ago, I saw a pic on this forum of bleached wenge. Tried it myself and got really good results.

I used a two-part product that I picked up at HomeDepot.

I've gotten similar results using regular laundry bleach (on wenge, can't say I've ever considered bleaching any of the holly I had, I LOVE the sublte grain, but it sounds like yours isn't so subtle...)

Not sure how large what you are trying to bleach is, but if you have laundry bleach around it might be worth giving it a try on some scraps before getting into the lye/hydrogen peroxide....

 

[jttheclockman]

Just finished looking at Jim Mahan's(jimm1) "Eagles" thread where he used some extremely white Holly wood.

I have some Holly but it is not nearly as white plus it has some graying in it, I was wondering if there was a way to bleach it to get it whiter. Has anyone had any experience bleaching wood?

I Would appreciate any and all comments on the subject.

I bleach holly and other woods all the time. You have to remember not all holly is the same. Holly has to be harvested at certain times and stored properly to keep even a hint of its white color. It will grey if not done properly. This is done in the colder months.

Here are some examples of holly that was bleached. You may have seen this pen before but I made this with holly and black gabon ebony. And then here are some blanks that will be used for future pens.





Photo is a little dark.


Here is one on the lathe using MY JIG



I buy my bleach by the gallons but you can get smaller quantities. It is called Wood Bleach by Klean Strip and comes in 2 part system. Equally dispensed and works great. Household bleach does not work. I get it at Amazon but i think you can get it at Woodcraft too if my memory serves me well which is a gamble there. Just remember when adding a finish, will tint is slightly no matter what finish you use. Holly is a very pourous wood.

http://www.amazon.com/Klean-Strip-Klean-Strip-Wood-Bleach/dp/B0083IG99C/

 

[kruzzer]

John thks for the info on Wood Bleach by Klean Strip and BTW that pen is awesome..
r

 

[The Penguin]

I forgot about the Kleen Strip wood bleach.

Part A is Lye and Part B is Hydrogen Peroxide - same as the homebrew recipe above.

I didn't want to pay $85 for a giant kit...the homebrew recipe was $25 or less.

 

[jttheclockman]

I forgot about the Kleen Strip wood bleach.

Part A is Lye and Part B is Hydrogen Peroxide - same as the homebrew recipe above.

I didn't want to pay $85 for a giant kit...the homebrew recipe was $25 or less.

I said they sell small pint bottles too. Look at woodcraft they may still sell it. How many people have lye around the house??? The only lye around my house is me. Oh that is lying around. I just checked woodcraft and see they have gone to something else that I have no experience with and looks like it is a one part system.