Wood Bleach on Irish Bog Oak

[James Smith]

I'm not advocating one look over another, but just offering a way to present Irish Bog Oak with a bit more color and character than all black. A couple of weeks ago, sorcerertd posted a very nice series of photos of Wenge wood after bleaching for some different time periods. I thought it might be interesting to try Wood Bleach on some Irish Bog Oak that I have. The pen with the brass finish kit was straight dark Irish Bog Oak finished with several coats of Glue Boost CA. As you can see it came out so dark that quite frankly is looks like black acrylic unless you hold it just right in the sunlight, then you can see some faint streaks of the grain. The pen with the Stainless Steel kit is the same wood that I applied Zinsser Wood Bleach to. I turned the blanks down to size, sanded to 600 grit, and applied a coat of Solution A, and let it sit for about 12 minutes. Then, I applied a good coat of Solution B to neutralize the bleach, and let it dry overnight. The solutions "raised" the grain a bit, so I sand from 600 grit Abranet and then 1,500 to 12,000 grit with Micromesh. Both pens got the same number of coats of Glue Boost CA and were again sanded from 600 grit to 12,000. The kit finishes aside, you can see the grain/character on the bleached pen which makes it more attractive and interesting in my opinion. I realize that removing the dark tannic stain from Bog Oak is a bit like removing a beautiful patina from an antique, but this just gives us an option for a different look for Irish Bog Oak pens.

 

[mark james]

Very nice experiment. I do like the appearance of the bleached bog oak, although the unbleached still has its appeal. Thanks for sharing.

 

[Alan Morrison]

I realize that removing the dark tannic stain from Bog Oak is a bit like removing a beautiful patina from an antique

I agree, but an interesting experiment.
Though I would also suggest that removing the patina is akin to covering it with layers of CA. As you say it just looks like Acrylic.

 

[MedWoodWorx]

I'm not advocating one look over another, but just offering a way to present Irish Bog Oak with a bit more color and character than all black. A couple of weeks ago, sorcerertd posted a very nice series of photos of Wenge wood after bleaching for some different time periods. I thought it might be interesting to try Wood Bleach on some Irish Bog Oak that I have. The pen with the brass finish kit was straight dark Irish Bog Oak finished with several coats of Glue Boost CA. As you can see it came out so dark that quite frankly is looks like black acrylic unless you hold it just right in the sunlight, then you can see some faint streaks of the grain. The pen with the Stainless Steel kit is the same wood that I applied Zinsser Wood Bleach to. I turned the blanks down to size, sanded to 600 grit, and applied a coat of Solution A, and let it sit for about 12 minutes. Then, I applied a good coat of Solution B to neutralize the bleach, and let it dry overnight. The solutions "raised" the grain a bit, so I sand from 600 grit Abranet and then 1,500 to 12,000 grit with Micromesh. Both pens got the same number of coats of Glue Boost CA and were again sanded from 600 grit to 12,000. The kit finishes aside, you can see the grain/character on the bleached pen which makes it more attractive and interesting in my opinion. I realize that removing the dark tannic stain from Bog Oak is a bit like removing a beautiful patina from an antique, but this just gives us an option for a different look for Irish Bog Oak pens.

one question: did you bleached the wood as a blank or when turned?i suppose bleach can penetrate wood to some extent but not all the way into the "core" of the wood (?). Thank you for sharing your efforts, cheers.