Bleeching wood

[Steef66]

Hi folks,

question? The hull of the Prins Willem I'm building is made of non-steamed pear wood strips. But when I buy pear wood it is mostly Swiss pear wood (Steamed pear wood).
See below the problem in colour

non-steamed pear wood


And steamed pear wood (swiss pear wood)


Is there a way to get the light yellow colour back and get rid of the pink colour?
I was thinking about bleaching with hydrogen peroxide and ammonia. But before I buy a lot of stuff that don't work (I hate to waste money) I hope that someone experience this before.

Thanks

 

[Uwek]

I can not help with your problem, but a short comment on the colour.

The steamed pear wood (withproduct name "swiss pear") is looking very much like the real "Elsbeere" (Sorbus torminalis) which is one of the most expensive wood and in central Europe often used for ship modeling


you see, that the colour is very close to steamed pear wood

Torminalis - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

I am in moment negotiating (with my wife - because of the storage space) about buying a tree for one of my future scratch builds


But back to your question:
Do you have already a stock of the steamed pear wood, so you have to bleech them definitely, or if not, than you could search for a dealer of natural pear?

 

[Steef66]

Thanks Uwe for you're reply.
Yes I have a stock of Swiss Pear Wood, enough to make the gun gates. But as I said the hull is natural pear. So you say I could bleach them?

 

[Uwek]

So you say I could bleach them?

Sorry, but I do not know or have any experience.

Searching around brought me to different videos on youtube, but it seems to be very problematic and extremely unhealthy

But if the wood is only used for your gun port lids, isn´t it easier to order some pear wood for your needs?

 

[Steef66]

I found a piece of oak, with Danish Oil it look very seminar to the pear. I wait to let it dry and compare it. Mayby I will use that instead of the pear I have.

 

[Uwek]

I found a piece of oak, with Danish Oil it look very seminar to the pear. I wait to let it dry and compare it. Mayby I will use that instead of the pear I have.

But with oak you will have a bigger difference with the grain, or?

 

[El Capi]

Men med egetræ vil du have en større forskel med kornet, eller?

Hej alle, jeg bliver nødt til at gøre en STÆRK ADVARSEL for at bruge nogle af de nævnte metoder og i den tyske video. Jeg har mere og mindre den samme mængde bygningsskibe, der har arbejdet i den biokemiske industri med stærkt opløsningsmiddel (kloroform var en af dem), stærke syrer som HCL, H2OH4-svovlsyre og nitritsyrer og på den anden side af skalaen stong Alcaline produkt som ammonium, NA2OH3 - kaustisk soda - absolut farligt at blive blandet - ikke kun vand - men syrer, klor osv. Alle produkter, der kan købes i butikker - skønt klor plus HCL giver meget dødbringende positioner gas - Brugge til at dræbe jøderne i KZ-lejrene,

 

[Uwek]

I copy here a PK from El Capi

Hi everyone, I will have to make a STRONG WARNING to use some of the mentioned methods and in the German video. I have more or less the same amount of building ships that have worked in the biochemical industry with strong solvent (chloroform was one of them), strong acids like HCL, H2OH4-sulfuric acid and nitric acids and on the other side of the scale stong Alcaline product such as ammonium, NA2OH3 - caustic soda - absolutely dangerous to mix - not only water - but acids, chlorine etc. All products that can be bought in stores - although chlorine plus HCL provides very deadly positions gas - used to kill the Jews in KZ camps,
It may be the right place to replay, but where I wanted to reply -Bleaching Wood- surely changes everything into Danish. will try to back on the right side during the day. The only Bleaching agents not that harmful H2O2, as one of the oxygen molecule is not very stable. many have this product at home to cure cuts and any other accident, where blood is involved. Our Blood has an Enzyme -KATALASE - in it, and it destroys h2o2 molecule to water h2o and fre OXIGEN- strong Bleaching agent. If you have a small cut, then ahh h2o2 Hydrogen Peroxide to the wound -now you start the fastest biochemical reaction known- and you will see, there comes now a foam on the wound- the bleaching- as the free Oxygen is a strong bleaching agent

So please be aware about this !!!!

Therefore I edited my former post and removed the videos

 

[Dave Stevens (Lumberyard)]

i do not think you can bleach wood i tried and it does not work very well.
it is best to just purchase natural pearwood i have a ton of it laying around. Or try something like boxwood

 

[Philski]

There is a bleach just for wood. It's called Oxalic Acid. I'm not sure it would accomplish what you want to do. I suggest you try any mehods you decide to use on scrap pieces first.

 

[Dave Stevens (Lumberyard)]

international shipping is pretty expensive rather than purchase big pieces and pay for extra weight that ends up as saw dust purchase wood close to the final size. i can ship natural pearwood.
what size and amount do you need and i can see if it is worth the shipping cost

 

[Steef66]

international shipping is pretty expensive rather than purchase big pieces and pay for extra weight that ends up as saw dust purchase wood close to the final size. i can ship natural pearwood.
what size and amount do you need and i can see if it is worth the shipping cost

Thanks for you're offer. I can get here in Holland strips from a fellow builder, I just need 3 strips of 1,5x5x350 mm. It is for the gun ports. I wait for them. But I keep your offer in mind.

The other option is oak I took a picture, the lighter peace is oak the other Swiss pear. The hull natural pear.

 

[El Capi]

There is a bleach just for wood. It's called Oxalic Acid. I'm not sure it would accomplish what you want to do. I suggest you try any mehods you decide to use on scrap pieces first.

it is an Acid, so take care with the right protection gear- eyes mask, a visor to protect the skin on the face, protect hands too. This is no joke

 

[Steef66]

I found this about bleashing

How to Bleach Wood [In 5 Easy Ways] - Start Woodworking Now

Often, when repairing or restoring furniture, it is necessary to bleach wood. An effective way is to learn how to bleach wood.

startwoodworkingnow.com

 

[Uwek]

Thanks for you're offer. I can get here in Holland strips from a fellow builder, I just need 3 strips of 1,5x5x350 mm. It is for the gun ports. I wait for them. But I keep your offer in mind.

The other option is oak I took a picture, the lighter peace is oak the other Swiss pear. The hull natural pear.

View attachment 212088

Usually the outside planking of the lids is the same timber like the hull planking - also it is following the planking of the hull.
This would mean, that you need for each lid four strips, or better two half and two full strips

To illustrate, what I mean see the following photos

HMS Victory


74 gun ship Boudriot


Bonhomme Richard


I woul not use the oak - the grain is really completely different
I would look for some additional material of natural pear - there are enough suppliers in Europe also for only a number of pear strips you need

 

[danielsje]

There is always the option of using a wood that would create a pleasing contrast for the gun port lids rather than a match. You can also use a wood stain to get the right contrast.

 

[Steef66]

This week a get a new party pear wood. I hope this is good enough to use. Other wood that I can use is the oak I have. Only using the parts that have less grain. The colour is good.

 

[ilanortho]

Like Philski said, I have used Oxalic acid which can be bought at the hardware store. I used it to bleach very grey worn teak on my sailboat and it did a great job. You would have to try it as to whether it would match un-steamed pear wood.

 

[pebbleworm]

Oxalic acid works great on grey weathered wood and gray water stains, but not much else. The two component wood bleach is the only thing I've found that will lighten a dark wood-

Amazon.com: Zinsser 300451 Wood Bleach, 8 oz: Home Improvement

Amazon.com: Zinsser 300451 Wood Bleach, 8 oz: Home Improvement

www.amazon.com

Don't use steel wool on the wood before bleaching- the tiny bits of steel left behind will turn into tiny black dots that I never was able to get rid of.

 

[ilanortho]

Oxalic acid works great on grey weathered wood and gray water stains, but not much else. The two component wood bleach is the only thing I've found that will lighten a dark wood-

Amazon.com: Zinsser 300451 Wood Bleach, 8 oz: Home Improvement

Amazon.com: Zinsser 300451 Wood Bleach, 8 oz: Home Improvement

www.amazon.com

Don't use steel wool on the wood before bleaching- the tiny bits of steel left behind will turn into tiny black dots that I never was able to get rid of.

Thanks for info!