Removing Stain/ Wood Bleach?

[RichValentine]

I recently purchased a fretless from a friend, however he decided to do a custom "homemade" finish on it.



I am after a natural bass though. I have sanded it back quite a lot, yet there it is still stained slightly pink.

From his description it was finished like this:
"
dulux red paint (i know heh he) thinned with cellulose paint thinner, brushed and cloth rubbed- 20 mins drying- body was bright pink at this stage

shellac button polish, brushed- 20 mins drying, lovely orangey colour
"

I am wondering if wood bleach would take it back to it's natural colour or if I should try anything else.

It looked beautiful before he finished it and am trying to get it back to that.



Any advice at all is appreciated.

Rich V.

[RichValentine]

Anyone? I can post a picture if needed.

[pilotjones]

I know there is such a thing as wood bleach. If I remember correctly, it is oxalic acid.

I've never used it though, so I can't say how much affect it will have on the pink colorant versus the light wood versus the dark growth ring bands.

[Suburban]

Do not bleech! It will ruin the wood cells.

What kind of wood is it? It may be that the wood has a tendency to pinkish, all of itself. In that case, you can work on it for ever. And this is very probable, too! You would normally, on hardwood, only need to sand a few mirometers to remove just about all the stain.

[RichValentine]

Found out the person on the other side of my garden is a cabinet maker and has a huge workshop in his double garage. Also he's an amazing trumpet player with his own local jazz band, so I can even talk music with him while asking for advice

edit: It's maple by the way.

[vintager]

off topic maybe, but both pieces of wood are gorgeous.. i'd love to see how it ended up

[standupright]

Originally Posted by vintager

off topic maybe, but both pieces of wood are gorgeous.. i'd love to see how it ended up