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How to lighten a stained chest of drawers?

We sanded back the chest of drawers but the stain we used as turned out more orange than we would like. Used Cabots stain and varnish Golden Elm. Is there a way to tone down the orange a little, maybe a ligh sand and the go over with something like the liming white?

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BECf

JacobZ

Hi @BECf,

Welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community, it is fantastic to have you with us.

The good news is you don’t have to start over; you can definitely tone it down a bit with a few easy steps.

A scuff sand is the first step. It will not remove much of the colour if the stain has already soaked in, but it knocks back the surface sheen and will help whatever you use next sit more evenly. Use a fine grit sandpaper such as this 240 Grit Painted Surface Sandpaper and just scuff the surface rather than trying to cut it right back.

Going over it with a liming white is a solid approach. That will soften and mute the orange rather than trying to fight it directly. Apply it lightly and wipe it back so the grain still shows through, otherwise it can start to look painted instead of toned.

The main thing to be aware of is that Cabots stain and varnish products will leave a sealed layer. That means anything you apply on top will sit more like a coating than soak in, so a proper scuff sand is important to avoid patchiness.

I'd suggest you lightly sand it, test a liming white on an unseen area, and build it up slowly until the orange is softened to where you like it. You can then transfer that level to the wider piece. That is usually the easiest and least risky fix without having to strip it all back again. If things don't turn out how you hoped, don't fret, because you can always sand everything back and try again.

Let me know what you think and if you have further questions, please don't hesitate to ask.

Jacob

BECf

Thanks Jacob will give it a go

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