I suspect there may be language and/or cultural barriers at play here in addition to limitations of online interaction and I apologize to all parties if I am at fault.
Otherwise, I've been conditioned to banging my head against the wall and my local spirits purveyor depends heavily on my continuing the habit.
Hi Zephyr,
I commented with a link to better photos which clearly show the sunbleach. It is the comment before yours. The reason I am asking how to fix sunbleaching is because I want TO LEARN how to do it. Obviously I am not a pro. You say I need to shadow an experienced person, That's why I am asking on this forum. I do read books, try out on throw-away pieces and I did ask professional woodworkers. I know some ways to fix it, I am just interested in opinions of several people instead of one. Apparently that's too much to ask and everyone has already formed their opinion without knowing me.
And I am not sure where you got the idea from that profit is all I am looking for. If that was so, I would have tried selling it in this condition for the highest price possible. But I want a fair price for a fair piece and I am looking to make someone happy with it. II merely responded on Tktoo's comment about the cost/benefit analysis.
I didn't know it was that hard to get a simple answer on a simple question. I am really dissapointed in the replies.
That's the problem Odile, you are not actually reading/listening/understanding our responses. Sunbleaching is not a simple problem, and therefore there are not simple answers. We have been trying to tell you that all along, and you have just rejected that answer, and insisted that there is a better one, and seeing the close-ups now, I am not convinced that it is sunbleaching. It looks to me that it is just the natural oxidizing that teak undergoes with age, making it darker, with more red coloring. Clearly there were books pushed up against the back, for most of its life, and the oxidation occurred at a slower rate than the areas that were exposed. This is good news since it is more likely that you will be able to fix it, and it is the same method that I would tell you to try if it were sunbleaching.
Now, I cannot teach you how I would remedy sunbleaching via an internet forum, no more than I could teach you how to be a professional footballer via an internet forum. There are numerous things that can be tried, but each requires a certain technique, and an intense concentration on what is happening during application of this technique. You need to be able to see that something is not working, and respond based on experience. There are innumerable subtleties, and by the time I had described all of them to you, I will have written my own furniture refinishing book.
Second, you made your job quite a bit more difficult by applying wax, as your first step. Wax will go on top of just about any finish, but almost no finishes will go over wax. Had you not used wax, I would have suggested that you invest in a a good teak oil, specialized for interior use (not for yacht brightwork), and apply multiple coats of this using 0000 steel wool. Oil + steel wool should always be your first step with teak furniture that needs finish renewal and even-ing-out (with only a few exceptions). Wax should only be used as a last step to shine the surface and add minimal, additional protection. Personally, I would argue that it should almost never be used.
Unfortunately, now you need to battle the wax, so you will need to strip this off, before you try any other methods. From the pictures you posted (which were posted as I typed my response, and I did not see them), there does not look to be much damage. So at this point, your best bet is to strip off the wax and previous finish. I would recommend Methylene Chloride, but you can't get in the NL because of the REACH regulation, so you will have try citrus stripper, or acetone, Mineral Spirits, etc. Carefully sand by hand using a block. I would try 220 first, and then if you are not making progress, drop down to 180. Finish sanding with 220. Now oil, following the directions on the package, and using 0000 steel wool. Repeat until desired color is reached, I suggest at least half of a dozen applications of oil.
If none of this works, and you still have any energy left to try and fix this, you will need to explore staining methods. You could try to bleach the darker areas with a wood bleach of some sort, or you could try to darken the light areas to match. The repair at this point requires and extensive understanding of bleaches, dyes, stains, toners, glazes, and is basically an artistic effort.
There are many threads on this forum that go into greater detail about sunbleaching. If you do a simple search for the term, it will bring you all of the possible methods that this forum knows.
Finally, I have spent a lot of time in the Netherlands, have many coworkers in the Netherlands, and even have some very good friends that are Dutch. While I can appreciate that English is not your first language, and that there are certainly cultural differences, you really come across as a condescending, profit-focused ass on this post. You appear to me, to be a selfish child, that whines when it does not get its way, and if you want to try and blame an entire forum for MY OPINION, you only support this conclusion. You need to do a better job of understanding what people are telling you and appreciating it, even if it is not what you want to hear.
Good Day and Good Luck to you sir.
That is not sun-bleaching.
UV light bleaches the dark streaks in teak more rapidly than the rest. The dark streaks are very present in that veneer.
I think Zephyr summarized the needed 1st step above. Nobody here has the information to know what the cause is yet. Until you strip everything on the surface of the veneer off, we won't even be able to make educated guesses.
Oh, I understand perfectly fine what what you and tktoo are telling me. And that is YOUR opinion. Of course, you are free to share your opinion, but doing so is not helpful at all, as I am clearly saying that I want to change the color differences. But it is not just about sharing your opinion. Tktoo was being patronizing, acting like I did not know that color difference with old furniture is normal. I explained to him that I understood his opinion, but that I was looking for another answer, and actually HE was the one who did not understood/accept MY opinion and what I was searching for on this forum and kept pushing his way. So you could say EXACTLY the same about him.
I refinished many beautiful pieces before. And what does tktoo say? 'Don't waste your effort on a refinishing experiment' while everyone here knows that experimenting is how you learn things. I would never try and tackle this bookcase if I was sure that it is not going to work out.
And apparently, by JUST commenting on tktoo's profit analysis, I am some kind of greedy money wolf? I was just stating a fact, refinished pieces are more worth that damaged pieces. Not sure how that makes me look greedy. You should look up the meaning haha. Trying to earn money on something doesn't make one greedy. Or are ALL dealers and sellers greedy by your standards? I think not. You two are just annoyed that I do not say 'yes, thank you and amen' to your comment. I do not have to agree with you or follow up your demands. I can say: I understand your opinion but it is not what I am looking for' and that gives you and tktoo absolutely no right to treat me like this.
Yes, I am super dissapointed in this forum. Not by you, but also tktoo's comment. Considering you are part of this forum. I am being treated like a joke by two self-conceited twits. Maybe try it this way next time: 'hey, I understand you want it to look even, but it is really hard to fix it, are you sure you are up for it? If you ask me, I would leave it like this, people know it is old and appreciate it the way it is. But if you really want to go ahead, we need some more photos'
Not that difficult ain't it?
The best to you too.
Facts:
You want color consistency
It is not sun bleached
It has wax on it
So, the wax needs to come off, because tinted oil, which is going to be your ultimate solution, will not stick to wax
The underlying oil or oxidized wood or whatever is causing the color differences may come off while you are working on getting the wax and exisiting finish off.
When you have removed the existing finish(es), take some photos and post them back here and I will try and help you.
I also tought that one could leave the bookshelves in their original position, but of course it limits the sellability of the item, as some buyers have special needs.
objectorship, thank you for making me loughthing this evening, it's difficult to find something funny these days.
Cheers, Ernest
In fairness to the OP, there are portions of this thread, apparently lost during the recent outage, that may have clarified further their intentions, motivation, and results. That said, all attempts at humor, successful or otherwise, are welcomed by me.
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