How to Bleach Wood Furniture

It’s summer time and I am ready for some DIY’s! My first project to kick off the season was this bleached wood coffee table. I found this cute coffee table for $20 on marketplace and couldn’t pass it up. I have been wanting to try this technique for some time now. I love the pale, rustic wood look. I am so happy with the results and I have detailed it out all for you.

Materials I used:

• stripping gel/spray
• plastic & metal paint scrappers
• towel
• plastic wrap
• 220 sandpaper
• spray bottle
• low splash bleach
• Polycryclic Matte Finish
• paint brush
• goggles, mask, gloves

1. Clean the furniture + Soak it in Citristrip Gel

The first thing I did was wipe down the entire coffee table to make sure it was clean. Afterwards, I lathered on the citristrip on the top of the table. I wrapped the table top in plastic wrap to ensure the moisture would stay locked in and the stripping gel could do its thing. I kept it wrapped for WAY longer than intended…and probably longer than I was supposed to. Let’s say that it was about 24-28 hours wrapped up.

2. Scrape the old stain off

Next, I unwrapped the plastic wrap around the table and began scrapping off the old stain with my paint scrappers. I alternated between the metal and plastic one. Be careful with the metal one. You can easily scratch the wood. I learned that the hard way and had to sand some areas that I scratched. Also, use gloves! The old stain will definitely get all of over your hands if you don’t. 

I repeated steps 1 & 2 a few times to ensure the stain was completely off. I also used another stripping agent to help me remove the stain. In areas that I didn’t put on a lot of the citristrip, I sprayed this to help scrape the stain off. This stuff worked great for this. While scrapping off other areas of the table, I would let this sit for a bit and to work its magic then was able to scrape off the stain.

3. Clean off + Sand Down

Using a 220 grit sand paper, I finely sanded down areas of imperfection-such as scratches or stubborn areas that still had some stain.

Once all of the stain had been removed, I then wipe down the table with a wet cloth and hose. I did find that the Citristrip gel was really messy and hard to wash off in some areas. I think next time I do this type of project, I will try using the spray.

4. Bleach it

After allowing the table to dry in the sun, I then filled up an empty spray bottle with low splash bleach. I highly recommend using low splash bleach to avoid it going everywhere. Also, wear googles, mask and clothes you don’t mind staining during this part of the project.

I sprayed the entire coffee table with bleach rubbing some areas in with a towel. Allowed the bleach to soak into the table for 45 minutes to an hour in the sun before adding another coat.

I added a total of two coats of bleach to the table and was satisfied with the color. Also, I didn’t know how much bleach the table could handle.

5. Wash+Dry

After the last coat of bleach dried, I hosed the table down and dried it off with a towel. I allowed it to continue to dry in the sun for about 5 hours.

6. Seal it Up!

I sealed it off with a Polycrylic Clear Matte Finish. I applied a coat and allowed it to dry. Viola! Here it is!

I really like the pale wood color and the rustic parts to it.