Pickling wood

Benjamin Moore makes an easy to use white pickling stain that just may go right over the chairs. For the tables you'll need to use a stripper firts.

have been treated with tung oil?

If they ~have~ been treated ith tung oil, do you mean that you finished them with tung oil starting with bare wood or that you wiped tung oil on the existing finish?

The place to get answers is where you ought to purhase your stripping materials:

Kwick Kleen: Seneca: Benco: Besway:

These companies have staff who can advise you the best way to remove various finishes. Request stripping products which will not darken the wood (most stuff you buy locally will darken the wood, especially oak whch has tannin in it).

The ultimate best thing to do is to let a stripping firm remove the finish for you. They do it safely and they know how to dispose of the sludge (do you?). Then, all you have to do is solvent wash the surfaces, sand and prepare everything for your new finish.

Regarding the new finish, Jeff Jewitt's book "Great Wood Finishes - A Step-by-step Guide to Beautiful Results" is available at:

I am sorry, I should have been more specific. The chairs when I bought them where raw , unfinished wood. I placed the tung oil on them.

Thanks again

Cindy