Tricks to Bleach Out Black Spots on Weathered Bright Work?

[Peter]

I picked up a couple of nice spruce (I think they are spruce... a very light colored soft wood, though they seem lighter than spruce would be with larger growth rings, so maybe Orford cedar????) extra long oars at a garage sale several years ago. They were originally varnished, but by the time I got them they were already getting weathered with lots of black spots where the varnish had broken through. I figured when I got around to refinishing them I'd just paint 'em. So I set them up in the rafters of my outdoor porch where they have been resting ever since.

I am finally getting around to stripping off the old varnish and I am having a pang of guilt about covering up the old time craftsmanship that went in to making them with paint. Whoever made them did a really fine job. You don't see that sort of attention to detail these days.... and less and less survives as time goes by and more stuff is made out of plastics and composites. But the black weathering spots are extensive and some look pretty deep into the grain.

I have used oxalic (sp?) acid (AKA wood bleach) in the past on spruce spars with only moderate success. I doubt that it would do the job at hand, though I will probably start there.

Does anyone know of a seriously heavy duty approach that might work?

Peter

[Morning Wood]

You could go ahead and finish them with the black spots. Then find someone with some talent to antique the black spots. It is done a lot on woodie car restorations. Then clear coat over the antiquing/camoflauge and you got it.

[MarkS]

When repairing furniture we use colored powders and you just rub them over dark or damaged spots to change the finish color. Of course this is make-up and not removing the problem but quite honestly I don't think you will get those out short of carving the bad wood out and then filling it anyway with tone wood dough.

Go to Mohawk Finishing on the web and find a color that works (or two or three) and cover it. If you can't get let me know and I will get it for you.

There may be other options from your local paint store but this stuff covers as well as that stuff the bride uses to hide the stray zit that works her into a lather.

[Pete Fallon]

Peter,
I have had good luck with removing the black spots with a mixture of Spic &Span and a stiff plastic bristle brush, make a paste let it sit the scrub and rinse. I have used it on teak, oak, mahogney and plywood with good results. If that doesn't work try soaking the area in some Vodaka for a day, it works, it should get rid of the spots, if not you can drink it.
Pete Fallon

[Peter]

The first go round simple household bleach took out a lot of the lighter dark spots, as one would expect. The tips of the blades which are "breadboarded" (I'm sure the is a nautical term for it but I don't know it) with red oak to keep them from splitting came out beautifully. The rest still needs some more work, but I am already a long way from the mess I started with.

Meantime I got a chance to look over the Mowhawk site that Mark put us onto. http://www.mohawk-finishing.com/catalog_browse.asp A very cool resource for this sort of thing. I have messed around with various repairs of this kind from time to time and never knew that such an extensive resource existed.

Thanks, Mark.

Peter