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My Vintage Porch

Interior Design, DIY, and Refurbishing

Bleaching And Lime Waxing Furniture

Filed Under: DIY Tagged With: antique, antique desk, antiquing, bleaching, bleaching furniture, diy, diy desk, diy project, farmhouse, farmhouse decorating, girls room, light colored furniture, lime wax, lime waxing, lime waxing furniture, liming, liming technique, old desk, removing stain, sanding, stripping, vintage, vintage furniture

*Just a note to alway use a mask , gloves,and goggles if needed) for your protection when using chemicals such as the ones that I’m speaking of in this post.

When I found this old desk on our local yard sale site for $20, I had no idea what I was going to do with it, but knew I had to have it! It’s sat in my garage for well over a year. Then one day, my husband said “it’s time to get rid of some stuff in the garage so that we can pull a car in for Hallie (whom is our 16 year old, that is now driving). Living in the neighborhood that we do, they don’t let you have cars on the streets. We already had two cars parked outside on our garage pad, with a garage FULL of projects. With a third car for my daughter, we had nowhere to park another car except for inside the garage. I knew if I didn’t do something with it, that my hubs was going to ask me to get rid of it. That is what lit the flame under my toes to get me started.

I don’t have a lot of step-by-step photos, as I didn’t plan on blogging about this when doing the project. Since I get a lot of questions about the process and how I made this desk look the way it did in the end, I’m adding the steps with the before and after here.

I started off by sanding it with my hand sander, to smooth it out in preparation for painting. I thought it would take too long to get the stain removed, but when I started to sand it, the stain came off so easily! I decided to sand the whole thing to bring out the lighter wood color .

I used my hand sander to sand the entire desk! It took a while, but it was worth all the work to have this end result! I started sanding with 100 grit sandpaper to remove the stain and to keep from scratching the surface of the desk. After all of the stain was removed, I smoothed it out with 150 grit sandpaper, before I started the bleaching process. When I was finished sanding. I cleaned off the piece, using a damp lint free cloth and let the desk dry. It’s important to make sure all of the sanding dust is cleaned off, before moving to the next step.

If you notice, in the photo above, the desk is a little darker than in the photo in the girl’s room below. When I had finish sanding the desk, I decided to bleach the wood. I sprayed bleach concentrate on the wood (with a spray bottle) and sat it outside in the sun for a couple hours. I would go out every half hour during those two hours and reapply the bleach to the entire piece. It did lighten the wood a lot, but I felt like there was still a twinge of orange/yellow in the undertones of the wood color.

If you notice, in the photo above, the desk is a little darker than in the photo in the girl’s room below. When I had finish sanding the desk, I decided to bleach the wood. I sprayed bleach concentrate on the wood (with a spray bottle) and sat it outside in the sun for a couple hours. I would go out every half hour during those two hours and reapply the bleach to the entire piece. It did lighten the wood a lot, but I felt like there was still a twinge of orange/yellow in the undertones of the wood color. Make sure to empty and rinse out the spray bottle after the bleaching process is finished. If the bleach is left in the bottle for an extended period of time, it will corrode in the bottle and ruin the spray bottle.

I added these label holders to the front of the piece to give it more character. I’ve use these label holders so often on furniture pieces and they are super budget friendly! They are the same ones that I used on my diy nightstands in my bedroom.

I decided that I would rather not use the original hardware for the desk, therefore, I had to find hardware that was the exact size (since I was keeping the wood color and unable to fill holes). I found some antiqued gold hardware at my local hardware store that fit perfectly with the look that I was going for!

I decided that I wanted the wood color to be even lighter than it was after I had bleached it, but didn’t want to loose the “wood look” by applying too much of something to lighten it up. I had used liming wax in the past and it works wonders! It’s very stinky and requires wearing a mask and gloves. I took a little bit of the liming wax on a lint free cloth and wiped it on the entire desk, working it into each area before moving to the next. I would start on a small area and make sure that I had it blended in well enough before moving to the next. Sometimes I had to use a circular motion when applying it to get it into the grooves. When liming wax shows in the groves, it looks amazing! Just make sure not to get too much liming wax on a piece, as it can get to looking like the white is too thick on the wood color.

I have also used a mix of one part liming wax and 2 parts mineral spirits to make the liming wax look even lighter on the piece. I used that technique on my coffee table, below. There was always that twinge of “yellow undertone”, that I disliked, on the wood of this coffee table. The liming wax/mineral spirits solution took the “yellowy” look away. I’ve never loved this table more than I do now! I also used the same mineral spirits technique to the small round table under the clock. The mineral spirits scent goes away in less than 24 hours.

When we renovated our Associate Pastor’s daughter’s room, I decided to give the desk to them. We didn’t really have a place for it and they needed one for their space. You can see the “before and after” transformation of their room, here. If you haven’t seen it yet, you won’t believe the “before and after”. I love the way their room turned out!

It was meant to be! It fit perfectly in the space where we needed a desk. One of the little girls in this room requested a desk, so we made sure that was something that ended up in the room. She loved it!

I love that the desk can be used as a desk or as a normal drawers piece. It looks just as great, open or closed!

I had this little chair that I had used the same liming wax technique on, and it fits perfectly with the desk! The chair didn’t have much stain on it so I just just sanded the wood a little with 100 grit sandpaper, smoothed out the surface with the 150 grit sandpaper, cleaned off the dust, and then applied the liming wax. It was super easy and such a fast project!

I hope this helps answer the questions that I receive about bleaching and lime waxing furniture! It’s one of my favorite techniques to use on furniture and the outcome is always gorgeous!

*Affiliate links are used in this post.

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. April says

    January 17, 2020 at 12:28 pm

    Hi! I am so glad you created this post! I remember when you did the desk and I loved it!
    Can you tell me how to mix the liming wax and sprits together? (silly question)

    • My Vintage Porch says

      January 23, 2020 at 8:14 pm

      How fun that you remember it! I just used a disposable dish and used one part liming wax to two parts mineral spirits and mixed it with a plastic silverware.

  2. TC says

    January 17, 2020 at 2:55 pm

    I LOVE and WANT EVERYTHING!!!! Insanely GORG…GEOUS❤️????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????

    • My Vintage Porch says

      January 23, 2020 at 8:14 pm

      Thank you so much! So sweet of you!

  3. Melanie says

    January 17, 2020 at 3:01 pm

    I love reading your posts on furniture refinishing! I know so little about it so your before and after pics, materials used, and all your helpful hints are so appreciated! Getting inspired!

    • My Vintage Porch says

      January 23, 2020 at 8:15 pm

      That makes me happy that they are helping you, Melanie! Thank you!

  4. Sara says

    January 17, 2020 at 3:19 pm

    You did an awesome job! Thank you for sharing.

    • My Vintage Porch says

      January 23, 2020 at 8:15 pm

      Thank you so much, Sara!

  5. Deb says

    January 18, 2020 at 11:32 am

    Hi Natalie~
    Wow! It looks amazing! I love it! 🙂 Thank you for giving us a glimpse of something “prettiful” on this cloudy Saturday morning.
    Blessing~
    Deb 🙂

    • My Vintage Porch says

      January 23, 2020 at 8:17 pm

      Thank you so much, Deb! I’m glad it could bring some sunshine!

  6. Tammy says

    January 18, 2020 at 12:27 pm

    That was such a great renovation that you and your family did for your Associated Pastor’s daughters.
    Thank you for sharing how you bleached that sweet little desk, I love it! I have a china cabinet that belonged to my parents and I would love to bleach it, maybe in the spring hubby and I will give it a try.

    • My Vintage Porch says

      January 23, 2020 at 8:12 pm

      Oh how fun that would be, a china cabinet! I bet it’s gorgeous! Thank you so much, Tammy!

  7. cindy@countyroad407 says

    January 18, 2020 at 1:49 pm

    I had no ideas this was even possible! I looks amazing and I can hardly wait to try it! Thanks for sharing. It looks perfect in your daughters room. Pinned!

    • My Vintage Porch says

      January 23, 2020 at 8:12 pm

      Sweet! Thank you so much, Cindy!

  8. Betsy says

    January 18, 2020 at 4:09 pm

    Sooooo beautiful! Would you please share your favorite sources of unique hardware?
    Thank you!

  9. Shanna says

    January 18, 2020 at 5:32 pm

    Amazing Natalie. May I ask if you sealed the table and if so with what?

    • My Vintage Porch says

      January 23, 2020 at 8:04 pm

      Thank youm Shanna! I just used Behr furniture wax to seal it, probably not as wipeable as a water based poly would be.

  10. Dawn says

    January 19, 2020 at 9:07 am

    This is the cutest prettiest thing I’ve ever seen!!!!

    • My Vintage Porch says

      January 23, 2020 at 8:05 pm

      That is so kind! Thank you, Dawn!

  11. Kathy M says

    January 25, 2020 at 12:59 pm

    You a great ability to look at a piece of boring furniture and envision a beautiful end product and then make it happen. Love this piece!

  12. Paula Bradshaw says

    January 25, 2020 at 2:17 pm

    Beautiful. I have a desk & bedroom furniture that I’d like to do. It looks like a great option.

  13. Vanessa says

    February 4, 2020 at 12:33 am

    Hey ♡♡
    I’ve been following you from wayy over here in England UK for ev’ver.
    You are inspiring and so funny. Seriously you don’t actually know it but we’ve been best friends for quite a few years…. ???? Not in a scarey, stalky way ???????? love your work ♡ Have a fab day ????

Trackbacks

  1. New Wood Made Old says:
    February 3, 2020 at 4:54 pm

    […] wiped the liming wax on the cabinet with a lint free cloth, making sure that I had a damp cloth close by in case I […]

  2. Bleaching And Lime Waxing Furniture | Dadne says:
    February 13, 2020 at 2:22 am

    […] Original Source […]

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I hung this Thrifted crocheted table runner as a v I hung this Thrifted crocheted table runner as a valance today and I love it! Swipe over for the before of this space 😳 I barely remember what it used to be. #bathroomrenovation #coppertub #brickwall #bathroomdesign
(Swipe over to see a closer view of the frame and (Swipe over to see a closer view of the frame and the before)I love it!!!! I know some of you may like the “before” better but I love it so much better now, for our house! Before, when the frame was cherry color, it felt like the frame was the star of the show and now (after painting it gold) the painting pops more than the frame 🙌🏼 The signature says “Gordiano” #paintingart #diningroom
Do you see my pots still sitting over there? They Do you see my pots still sitting over there? They are pretty much dry now! Yayyyy! I’ll show you a close up soon! Have a great Sunday!! ♥️ #woodceilings #antiquerug #quartzite
(Swipe over for “before) Anyone remember when I (Swipe over for “before) Anyone remember when I got these barstools at @antiquitieswarehouse ? I’m so glad I did! Oh, and I swept up the dog fur after the photo. 😁 #kitchendesign #rustichome #brickwall #exposedbrickwall #saltillo
Today, after over 30 years, I learned that I don’t know how to Amish cuss! (See stories if you’re confused) Trav has believed I knew how for over 30 years too….I guess he also believed me when I told him that it was my uncle in the Barney purple dinosaur costume. Now let’s all Bish Shtill about colonoscopy prep, until I’m finished. 🤫 ok, that’s all…and this is an antique coffee grinder on the side of the cabinet there…I know that’s true for sure. #coffeegrinder #beforeandafter #kitchen #smeg #antiquerug #antiquecoffeegrinder #caribou
(Swipe over to see the shelf and the before of thi (Swipe over to see the shelf and the before of this space) We turned this “used to be workout room” from the previous owners into our laundry room, so we could have more space since the other laundry room they had was so small.  We have a couple more lights to add, I want to figure out a way to cover the electrical box in the corner, and we might reface the storage above here and then we should be done, oh and maybe add a wood ceiling 😊 I’m just putting it all out here so Trav can see it and not be surprised for the upcomings. The end…of me, maybe. oh, and the stairs? Those lead to the creepy dark attic (hvac and other stuff) where hopefully there is no people living. #brickfloors #laundryroommakeover #laundryroomideas #laundryroomdesign #antiquefurniture #farmhousesink #castironsink
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