How to lighten color of dark wood?

Bruna Spadaro
by Bruna Spadaro

How do I make a Tommy Bahamas wall unit lighter in color? It is all wood.....Thank you.

  4 answers
  • Darla Darla on Mar 20, 2019

    Only way I know to do that is to sand the unit until all or most of the original finish is removed. Unless the wood is a natural dark wood it should lighten the color considerably. If the unit is a veneer you will need to be careful with your sanding as veneer isn't very thick and it is easy to sand to much and go right through the veneer.

    I have never tried to bleach wood but you may be able to look that up on the internet and see if it can be done.

  • Kelli L. Milligan Kelli L. Milligan on Mar 20, 2019

    The only way to lighten stained wood is to strip and refinish or paint it.

  • William William on Mar 20, 2019

    To stain.... sand down to raw wood and stain a lighter color. You can paint it. Lightly sand to roughen the surface. Prime with Kilz primer. Paint your color.

  • Natalie Natalie on Mar 25, 2019

    Unfortunately you'll need to strip or sand the finish off. Hopefully after that the wood will be light enough. If not, you can use wood bleach to make the wood lighter.