How To: Bleach to lighten wood & remove stains from furniture

Restoring wood furniture takes time and patience, but the results of your labor can be enjoyed for years, even generations. The restoration process usually involves stripping off old finishes, bleaching, staining and then varnishing. Two-Part Hydrogen Peroxide is a strong bleach that will lighten wood and remove previously applied finish stain, providing you with a fresh new surface to refinish.

Once you have stripped the old varnish and paint from a piece of furniture (see tutorial on chemically stripping wood), you will most likely encounter stains in the wood surface that should be removed before applying a new finish. Bleaching is a good technique for getting out these stains. However, different types of stains require different bleaching techniques. To find the furniture restoration technique to suit your needs and learn how to best apply it, take a look at this DIY video tutorial.