Synopsis: You can remove the color from wood without taking away its personality. Michael Robbins shows how on a white oak cabinet, where bleached panels contrast nicely with the natural carcass and still allow the oak’s ray fleck to shimmer through. Robbins uses a two-part bleach finish, and in this article he demonstrates how to adjust the color to exactly what you want, neutralize it, and enhance it with a finish that will keep it white.

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With my work I often avoid the warmth of oiled oak, maple, or ash and instead apply a bleaching process that effectively takes the color out of the wood. It may sound like heresy, but done properly, a bleached finish can provide a pleasant contrast and a new context to the wood. The bleaching process allows a wide range of control. Depending on the extent of application, you can achieve results ranging from…