Expert: Greg Scholl - 4/13/2011

Question
QUESTION: Mr. Scholl

My husband and I recently bought a house and discovered that something was used on some of the kitchen cabinet doors which took the finish off in areas and left a residue. I am assuming that they were trying to clean the doors. The kichen cabinet doors are raised panel natural oak (no stain), only a clear coating. I have already finished the cabinet framing and it looks beautiful. I used Jasco(not as good as Jasco from 20 years ago) remover to remove the finish on a couple of doors and then sanded. I was excited because I was going to have a beautiful kitchen when I was done.  I then realized that time was running out so I had a supposed professional strip the rest of the doors. What ever this guy used turned the grain black on all of the doors.  What could have been used in the stripping process to turn all the grain black? I have never seen this in my life and have done other refinishing projects. My understanding of wood bleach is that it will lighten the black to shades of gray and I will not get my doors looking as they originally did.  I cried for two days because deep down I know that the likelyhood of removing all the black out is slim to none. Is there a way to remove all the black out of the grain without sanding it out? Any help you can provide will be greatly appreciated because I am just sick over this.

ANSWER: Hi Janna, water can turn Oak black, and he may have used a water based or water rinsed stripper....the Jasco is likely the same, but the finishes used on kitchen cabinets have changed a lot. They use catalyzed and conversion finishes on them now, which are 'crosslinking' finishes that are very hard, durable, and chemical resistant. This makes stripping modern kitchen cabinets a BIG, TOUGH job.Could he also have stored them somewhere were they got wet? Oxalic acid solution should remove the black pores, but it is a fairly time consuming operation that needs to be done with care....have you approached him and asked him the question? Maybe even shown him one of yours next to one of his? This would be the best course of action, and should have been done immediately upon receipt of the work....post back if need be- regards- Greg

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Mr. Scholl,

I really appreciate your response. Initially I was told that the product he uses would not raise the wood grain. After speaking to him after the fact, steel wool was used along the his product. Maybe water is part of his process and that is why he used steel wool. He would not tell me what was used, but seems to think that it was a chemical reaction between the finish and the product used. I can't imagine not testing the product first or even continuing to use this product after turning one door black. He did tell me that he has had this happen in the past and is positive that he can get the black out. I have since given him two doors to see if he can get the black out. Time will tell! Can you tell me more about the Oxalic acid solution? Can this be bought by any consumer or is it only available only to those in the furniture stripping business? I am just trying to prepare myself because I really have my doubts.

Answer
I would not have given him the doors without answers to your questions.....and without him describing exactly how we was going to proceed...if he takes a power sander to them without knowing better...he could ruin them, or vastly change their look compared to all the other doors...it isn't a chemical reaction from the finish, I can tell you that....but he should have answered your questions directly, and explained EXACTLY how he was proceeding from here....Oxalic acid is a wood bleach as well....it comes in crystalline form and is mixed with hot water, and excels at removing this type of black staining from Oaks, as well as mineral staining from dirt and flower pot damage to wooden surfaces, etc......it is available at most hardware stores, BUT it is caustic and dangerous like any similar product and MUST be use with care and with Caution, and a little bit of knowledge and experience, as I'm sure you noticed....it does use water..and has to be water rinsed......steel wool is almost always employed with strippers, especially when stripping these catalyzed finishes, as they are very difficult to strip...who is this guy?...is he a stripper?..Handyman?....-Greg