Reddit reviews DEFY 1 Gallon Wood Brightener
We found 1 Reddit comments about DEFY 1 Gallon Wood Brightener. Here are the top ones, ranked by their Reddit score.
RESTORES THE NATURAL BEAUTY OF WOOD – DEFY Wood Brightener cleans and restores weathered wood surfaces to make them look new again.REMOVES RUST STAINS AND TANNIN STAINS CAUSED BY FALLEN LEAVES – This product excels at removing rust or tannin stains from wood surfaces and is recommended for all species of wood including redwood.NEUTRALIZES WOOD STAIN STRIPPERS AND CLEANERS – This product brings wood surfaces back to a neutral ph, after using alkaline wood cleaners and stain strippers. This creates an ideal surface ready to be stained. Wood cleaners and stain strippers that aren’t completely rinsed and neutralized can cause premature stain failure.IMPROVES ABSORPTION OF WOOD STAINS – In addition to brightening and neutralizing the surface, DEFY Wood Brightener also helps to open the pores of the wood, allowing for maximum absorption and longevity of DEFY Wood Stains.CONCENTRATE MAKES 5 GALLONS – This economical 1 gallon concentrate can be mixed with 4 gallons of water to treat between 500-1,000 sq. ft. of surface area.
This advice assumes that the grey color comes from oxidation (usually sun/weather exposure like a grey-ed fence/deck). You can certainly sand this coloration away (and there is some merit to that as you will end up with a nice smooth finish) however, if the oxidation is deep, you will be sanding away a fair amount of material and it will require a lot of effort. Enter oxalic acid. Oxcalic acid is used to "bleach" wood, and is the main ingredient in wood brighteners. Depending on where you live, most any hardware store will sell a similar product over in the paint section. Often labeled as deck/fence restorer. For instance, Home Depot sells Behr All-In-One wood cleaner. The stuff is awesome, just clean/debride the wood with a stiff bristled scrub brush, wet the surface, brush on the cleaner (can dilute 1:1 with water), let sit 10-15 min (keeping wet), and rinse. It will take the grey color from the wood like magic. After that you can sand the surface smooth (if desired) with much less effort than trying to sand through the discoloration. If there is any finish left on the wood, you will want to remove that as well before refinishing.
Also, not to contradict /u/dragon34, but the advice he got about not sanding between coats of poly isn't particularly great. Yes, re-coating quickly will allow the second coat to adhere without sanding, but it will not result in the best finish. At the very least, you should denib the previous coat before moving to the next. Otherwise you will end up with bumps from dust, insect, uneven application, etc. being trapped between the layers. I usually just buff the previous coat with some 0000 steel wool until burnished smooth, and then go over it with a microfiber cloth that has been dampened with denature alcohol. If you are putting in all the effort to restore, prep, and refinish the piece, it is worth spending an extra 10 minutes prepping properly between coats.