How to lighten dried oil based stain

I was in the process of refinishing a 1920's oak quarter sawn table (don't worry I didn't strip the original finish, someone had stained it golden oak in the 90's and the finish was peeling) and my stain got away from me and darkened too much. I really didn't want to resand the whole top as the finish was close but just a few shades too dark.

I concocted a trick of pulling up some of the finish to bring it a few shades lighter to match the stain on my chairs. Using 0000 steel wool did the trick.

[danad]

This video saved my project and made me a LOT less frustrated with how the stain I did turned out. THANK YOU!

[jamesmccloughan]

Woodwork finishing is an art. Sometimes mistakes become masterpieces. Kudos! I had an old woodworker show me a great trick to make the wood pop some years ago. He used a fine grade sandpaper strip that was foam backed and direct applied the oil stain with it. The stain applied with the sanding pad acted as a buffer. The results were absolutely amazing.

[ccccen]

And the table is saying, sand by me, sand by me lol

[golinda]

Thanks for this info. I'm refinishing very old kitchen cabinets and the first stain job came out overly dark and blotchy in places (even with pre-stain wood conditioner) because of the shape the cabinets are in (I did my best with the prep work). It's exactly what I needed. I tried it and it worked to help even out and lighten some of the darker areas.

[BeckyHeiner]

Did you soak the steel wool in mineral spirits or water?

[francesd]

This worked for me on a cabinet door I made too dark. It lightened it up to exactly the shade I wanted. Thank you!!

[SuzieWeida]

Just the information I needed to save my project 👍🏻 Thank you

[artmuz]

Thank very much for posting this. I Know it's been a couple of years but this content was great help.

[richardcook]

I have lightened a finish by sanding with 400 grit sandpaper, lightly sanding, always with the grain, watching the result carefully. It leaves a finish that you can put polyurethane varnish over when you have the stained effect you're looking for.

[jschergs]

Thank you so much for posting this. It saved my antique project!

[tlanc]

Yes, exactly the video I was hoping to find! Thank you.

[Mr.Steve-O]

Need to do this on a guitar neck that came out to dark, want to pull some of the red out and make more yellow as you didi here, thanks for the tip !!

[chriscapello]

Believe it or not, after you let it dry, if do a light sand then scrub with more stain and wipe frequently, it will pull up some f the dried stain and lighten it up

[avavictoriasongbird]

The wipe cloth is dry or wet? Didn't catch that part. U started with mineral spirits. Did u return to it After 000steelwool! Devil is in the details

[milantoombs]

By the way, this process worked great, thank you.

[bulldogms]

Oil based stain on a deck ceiling came out blotchy. Not sure if I want to take a chance going over it like this. It is a very large area so it can't be handled in single strokes unless perhaps with a pole apparatus. The wheels are turning!

[cornerstoneframing]

What did you wipe the table with after you used the steel wool? (What was on the white cloth?)

[smilingdog]

Did you use mineral spirits on the steel wool or is that just stain on the cloth

[listenHerr]

Does steal wool work better than a fine sand paper in terms of not affecting the wood itself? I’m down low on my veneer and worried about taking off too much wood.

[marisolmejia]

I just found this video and I love the suggestion I have a table that came out more reddish and would like to lighten but the workers had already placed a water based finish on top. Could I still try using the steel wool to lighten?