Things You Will Need
Too often the first is skipped and the third consists of a thick coat of yellowish polyurethane, yielding a muddied result. Pickling should highlight the irregular pores, grain and crevices that make wood warm and interesting. On older cabinets, remove any paint or finish completely before starting.
Preparation
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Set up a workspace in a well-ventilated basement or garage. Set up a workspace outdoors if you have more than a door or two to do. Spread newspapers to catch paint and thinner.
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Remove doors from the cabinet base and remove all hardware from each door. Put reusable hardware in a jar or plastic food keeper so it won’t be mislaid.
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Sand all surfaces with increasingly finer sandpaper until all scratches, dents and imperfections are worked flat. Clean the surface with a tack cloth.
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Apply the first coat of the wood bleach, a compound containing either caustic soda or ammonia along the grain of the wood with a brush. Allow it to sit for 20 minutes or according to directions on the package.
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Apply the second ingredient, hydrogen peroxide, over the first and let it bubble for 30 minutes to 1 hour depending on directions.
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Flush the bleached wood with water and dry it with lintless rags or paper towels. Repeat and allow the wood to air dry for at least 24 hours.
Staining
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Sand the wood with fine grit sandpaper to smooth the grain. Wipe the sanded wood with a tack cloth.
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Apply white oil stain or pickling whitewash with a brush. Wipe the excess off with a clean rag.
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Repeat staining and wiping if the effect is not deep enough. Two light layers will work into the grain and pores better than one thick one
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Allow the stained wood to dry for at least 12 hours before finishing the other side and edges of the wood.
Sealing
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Seal the pickled surfaces with a finish sealer or with a thin coat of white shellac and allow it to dry for 24 hours. Popular Woodworking’s Joe L’Erario suggests cutting one part of white shellac with 5 parts of denatured alcohol for a light sealer.
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Sand surfaces lightly and clean with a tack cloth.
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Apply two or more thin layers of non-yellowing varathane, shellac or brushing lacquer, sanding and cleaning between each layer. Follow container directions for drying times.