Many woods, walnut, mahogany, and rosewood come to mind, lighten with age. When working on antiques of these species that have suffered oxidation, how does one make repairs, that include new wood, that match, as the new wood is darker than the surrounding wood. It is also a problem when exposing fresh wood an antique that it is darker. How do you all deal with this?
Thanks, Dan
Replies
I try not to do repairs but sometimes it's unavoidable. I have sometimes had to match new walnut to furniture I built that was only a few years old and already lightened significantly.
Walnut bleaches beautifully with 2-part bleach, and you can control it fairly well. I make my own bleach with caustic soda and hydrogen peroxide*, but the store-bought kind is fine. Use a scrap piece for practice, and dilute the solution as needed if it's too strong. Don't pass judgement on the color until it is really dry. Mahogany also bleaches very well. I've never tried rosewood. If it's practical to bleach before you glue the repair then you're ahead of the game. If you have to work next to to the old parts, you need to be precise putting on the bleach.
DR
*If you want to make this up yourself, you need to be careful. I can give you info if you're interested. Both these chemicals need caution.
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