Grey wood.. can it be restored to its original colour?

Question

Hi,

I have a BTL house.

I fitted a new hardwood front door and frame about 3 years ago.

I painted it with clear yacht varnish. it has been painted twice again since then.

I only started letting it out 15 months ago.

In the meantime, The yacht varnish has flaked off. The now exposed wood has weathered and gone a silvery grey.

Can the greyed wood be restored back to its original colour and re-varnished with clear varnish? if so, how?

Otherwise I am resigned to either:

(a) sanding whole door and frame back down to a varnish free state, and staining with a dark brown stain (to hide the grey wood) and re-varnishing with a clear varnish.

(b) ripping out door and frame to replace with a white UPVC door set to match the rest of the house windows.

Regards,

Stephen.

Tim+ · Accepted Answer

I'm pretty sure chandlers sell stuff (bleach?) to restore wood colour in faded timbers. Never tried it myself. Tim

meow2222 · Answer

stain it golden? NT

Rick Hughes · Answer

Oxalic acid used to be the product, if you can't but easily ...  BarKeepers friend contains it.

Peter Parry · Answer

Was that the B&Q Yacht Varnish that rather confusingly says on the tin "not for external use"?

Jim K · Answer

Bacon Tomato Lettuce? Jim K

harry · Answer

Wood dye/coloured varnish?

Mark Bluemel · Answer

Big ToiLet

Andrew May · Answer

I had a similar problem with an oak garage door. I stripped it and used a wood cleaner[1] with a bit of sanding to get it back to a nice colour and then finished with OSMO UV Protection Oil . Still looks good after three years.

Andrew

[1] I can't for the life of me remember the name but still have some so could take a look this evening. IIRC it came from somewhere around Glasgow. Not that that is much help.

fred · Answer

It should come back with a good sanding.

The best long term solution I have found, bar none, is Epifanes High Gloss Clear Varnish,

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applied as per their spec., up to seven coats, it is extremely long lasting. I did a garden bench with it over 5 years ago and bar touch up once a year it is still in excellent condition.

An easier alternative which we use on a wood framed gazebo, is Osmo. Very thin so easy to apply. Renewed once a year (this Gazebo sits in full sunlight) it stands up to it well.

I can email you a pdf report on exterior grade finished if you p.m. me off group

Rick Hughes · Answer

The problem with any varnish is that once it cracks .. water gets in and under ... and soon by capillary action it starts peeling.

If you want to avoid that then use a micro-porous wood finish (Sikken Filter 7 etc.)

stuart noble · Answer

I've never been able to get rid of the grey by chemical means, and that  includes oxalic and peroxide

Grey wood.. can it be restored to its original colour?

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