DIY

How to Take the Red Out of Red Oak

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When we were building our house, we ran into a small issue. Our hardwood flooring was white oak, but we had a lot of other wood elements like beams and built-ins that would have to be built using red oak boards. We had to use red oak due to the limited availability of white oak.

So you may or may not be asking yourself, so what’s the big deal? I definitely don’t think all wood in a house needs to match exactly. In fact, a little contrast is nice. But in this house, it was very important to us to not have reddish hues coming through in any of the wood elements.

So I spent several days trying to figure out how to take the red out of our red oak. I came up with two methods that worked really well. In this article, I’m going to share them both with you so you don’t have to spend time trying to figure out how to do it.

Method 1: Bleach the Red Oak

I had heard of people bleaching wood, but I was skeptical about how well it would work. After researching the best bleach for wood, I came to the conclusion that all of the products I was finding were very overpriced. I also noticed that they all seemed to have the same two main ingredients: lye and hydrogen peroxide.

So I decided to make my own wood bleach.

The hydrogen peroxide was easy to find. I picked up a bottle at my local Walgreens, but it took a little more effort to find the lye locally.

I ended up finding it at Walmart, but not where I expected to find it. It was with the plumbing supplies. What I bought was a cheap drain unclogger that was 100% lye crystals.

Here’s how I made the bleach:

Step 1: Mix the Ingredients

Important: When handling or working with lye, you should always wear gloves and probably eye protection. Also, never pour water into the lye and don’t pour a bunch of lye into the water at one time.

I filled a plastic container with 1 qt of water. It’s important that you use plastic and not metal. And if you are doing a lot of wood, you might want to make a gallon.

Then I slowly added 3 tablespoons of lye to the water, stirring the water slowly between each tablespoon.

Step 2: Apply the Hydrogen Peroxide

Once I had the lye solution made and ready to go, I set it aside and poured the hydrogen peroxide on the red oak.

Then spread it with a foam brush to make sure the entire surface was covered.

Step 3: Apply Lye Solution

I used the foam brush to spread on the lye solution thoroughly over the entire surface.

Then I let it completely dry.

Step 4: Rinse the Wood

After the wood had completely dried, I noticed that it had a yellow tint. I realized this was residue from the lye solution. Using water, I rinsed the surface of the wood and wiped it dry with a towel. Then I let it comply dry again.

As you can see in the picture below, the bleach removed almost all of the red/pink coloring from the red oak.

If you end up using this method to bleach red oak and you feel like there is still too much red, you can repeat steps 2 – 4 until you are happy with the color.

Also keep in mind that the bleach only affects the top layer of the wood. So if you end up sanding the wood a lot, you could reveal red by removing too much of the bleached layer. Light sanding should be ok.

Method 2: Add some Green to your Stain

If you don’t feel comfortable with the bleaching method, there is another way to get rid of the “red”.

You might be thinking, “If I didn’t want the wood to be red, why would I want it to be green?”.

Let’s talk a little color theory. Take a look at the color wheel below.

Notice how green is opposite of red on the color wheel. This means that adding some green to a stain will help neutralize or hide the red in red oak. Plus anytime you mix a primary color with its opposite on the color wheel, you get brown. And that’s what we’re trying to achieve.

So, for this alternative method of taking the red out of red oak, you can experiment and mix your own custom stain color by adding in some green. Or you can find a stain that already has some green in it.

We used this technique on our red oak stair treads in our farmhouse, and we used it on several red oak items in our current house – like our beams, living room built-ins, and the floating shelves in our kitchen.

Conclusion

Trying to achieve the desired color for red oak can be a challenge, but I hope these tips are a help to you! Remember to be careful working with lye and don’t be afraid to experiment with different amounts of bleach and mixing your own stain colors.

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40 Comments

  • Reply Joanne

    So we bought poplar wood and it has a slight green undertone if we add red ( based on the chart)would it help take out the green?

    June 9, 2020 at 5:16 am
    • Reply Jess

      Hey!! We are working with knotty alder wood- and it has red/orange undertones. Would this process work on that?

      June 9, 2020 at 3:34 pm
      • Reply Henry

        Hi Jess. I’ve not tried it on alder wood, but I don’t see a reason why it wouldn’t work. Let me know how it goes.

        June 9, 2020 at 3:38 pm
        • Reply Kate Martens

          Hi! The only stain I can find from Olympic in driftwood gray is an exterior stain. Is that what you used on these interior projects? I’m trying to find a stain for my red oak beams to go with my white oak floors. Did you buy the stain from Home Depot?Thanks.

          June 15, 2020 at 11:27 am
          • Henry

            Hi Kate. Yes, that is it. That’s what we used on our beams without bleaching. If you are wanting the beams to be light, I would recomend bleaching them, and using a lighter stain. Driftwood Gray will give you a medium brown on unbleached red oak.

            June 15, 2020 at 11:32 am
        • Reply Michele

          So what color stain did you end up using on the floating shelves.

          December 20, 2022 at 1:48 am
    • Reply Henry

      Hi Joanne. I’ve not tried that on poplar, but it seems like it should work. You could also test the bleach method to try and remove the green. Let us know how it goes.

      June 9, 2020 at 3:37 pm
  • Reply Ann

    Henry, Thank you so much for sharing this information.
    Is the Olympic driftwood gray stain water based or oil based? I’m having a difficult time finding Olympic interior stain. Would you recommend another brand stain with similar results?

    June 10, 2020 at 11:12 pm
    • Reply Henry

      You’re very welcome! The stain we used is actually outdoor stain, but it’s ok to use it on the interior. Hopefully knowing that will help you find the right one.

      June 10, 2020 at 11:21 pm
      • Reply Casey

        What kind of green do we add? Latex paint? And what stain color do we add it too? Appreciate your help!

        April 14, 2023 at 4:30 pm
  • Reply Kim

    Did you add a finish over the driftwood gray or just leave it as it is a stain/sealer? Everything my carpenter tries changes the color?

    June 24, 2020 at 11:34 am
    • Reply Henry

      We didn’t apply anything else after the stain. But if you want to, I would recommend Helmsman Spar Urethane.

      June 25, 2020 at 1:38 am
  • Reply Amber Kunnen

    What exactly is the process you used on the built ins to match the white oak flooring? Did you bleach and stain with driftwood grey? Did you just do a clear coat? Poly or oil? Thank you!!

    July 13, 2020 at 6:09 pm
    • Reply Henry

      On the built-ins, I just used the Driftwood Gray stain.

      July 17, 2020 at 1:33 am
      • Reply Lauren

        Hi Henry, do you think this method could work to lighten golden oak trim?

        February 4, 2021 at 6:13 pm
      • Reply Riki Mantel

        Hi .I have a red oak which I am making into a table top . I stained it once and I see too much red. Can I bleach it once it was stained

        September 4, 2022 at 6:09 pm
  • Reply Michelle

    Stained red oak (pickled oak) still super red but already indoor and installed built ins. Is it hard to sand down and restain? I love the custom built ins. The cabinet maker did a fabulous job but it’s just really red. Or is there another way?

    July 15, 2020 at 9:38 pm
  • Reply Adam

    Just curious – where did you source your oak from, and what were the dimensions?

    August 27, 2020 at 9:44 pm
    • Reply Adam

      Dimensions for the beams I mean (primarily interested in where to get longer pieces of oak)

      August 27, 2020 at 9:46 pm
  • Reply Adeline

    Brooke and Henry! I love this post! It gave me the courage to try bleaching some red oak trim to match my white oak cabinets. I ended up making a stronger solution of 1 cup water, 1 tbs. of the same lye as above (be sure to add the lye to the water and not the other way around!), and 1/2 cup of 40 volume clear hair developer from a Sally’s Beauty Supply, then brushed it on with a chip brush. The strength of 40 volume developer is 12% hydrogen peroxide, so it worked very quickly, lightening the wood in one pass. I let the wood dry in the sun and then rinsed it off. Within an hour the red oak wood trim had become a perfect match for the white oak cabinets! Thanks so much for your inspiration!

    September 17, 2020 at 6:26 pm
    • Reply Jacky

      Thanks for your solution mixture! I screen shot it to use in the future. I’m bleaching my handrails and newel post now and it’s taking a while. Didn’t use the solution Brooke posted as I already bought a wood bleach. Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!

      November 20, 2022 at 6:29 pm
  • Reply Terri

    If I could I would hug you. Tried bleaching my oak like you said and it worked like a charm. If I want to leave it natural like it is after the bleaching what would you recommend to seal it. This is a dining room table that gets light use. MANY THANKS again.

    October 31, 2020 at 1:15 pm
  • Reply Purandhri Pandya

    This is great! Dumb question – What if my floors are already installed? Can this method still be applied?

    Thank you for sharing.

    November 7, 2020 at 7:12 pm
  • Reply Kate Stoller

    Hi there!
    Did you stain the red oak after bleaching it to get that light color? If so, what stain should I use? Dying to get that white oak look!

    November 9, 2020 at 10:02 pm
  • Reply Jen

    It looks beautiful! I have the same question as a few other people. I bleached my floors and now I’m trying to decide if they’re still too yellow. Did you use the driftwood stain on the bleached wood, or just use it instead of the bleach? Thank you!

    December 5, 2020 at 8:53 pm
  • Reply Paul

    Thanks for this. “Experts” though say that 3% hydrogen peroxide isn’t really doing anything and that industrial 27%-30% strength is needed. Your results look like they do though.

    January 30, 2021 at 2:06 am
  • Reply Lauren

    Hi, I love this post! I have an overwhelming amount of golden oak trim in my house. Floors too. Currently resisting painting the trimwhite in hopes of finding a way to lighten it to an unfinished white oak type look instead. Could this work on trim?

    February 2, 2021 at 4:36 pm
  • Reply Noel Mladinich

    Hi. Thanks for this. When you say, “you can experiment and mix your own custom stain color by adding in some green,” what green product are you referring to? Green paint tint? Green stain? A common stain with green undertones? I am not having any luck finding a green product that would fit the bill. Thanks!

    February 8, 2021 at 3:23 pm
  • Reply Angela

    I am also looking for a green product to add to my stain to remove the red. Can you please let us know why green product you are referring to? Thank you.

    April 21, 2021 at 5:43 pm
  • Reply lauren MOORE

    A few questions here asking about what “green” stain you are referring to? Or maybe you’re suggesting a green paint? I have the same question too!

    May 10, 2021 at 3:56 pm
    • Reply Cristina Aicher

      I have the same question on adding green to the stain.- any oil based green paint??

      July 12, 2021 at 2:47 am
  • Reply Angie

    Hello! So I did this to a bunch of red oak boards last night and it turned a bunch of them an ugly dark green color. Is it ruined or any recommendations on how can I fix it?

    May 20, 2021 at 1:24 pm
    • Reply Warveen Mosa

      Read comments below I have given the solution to the green color problem.

      October 7, 2021 at 7:03 pm
  • Reply Suzannah

    Hi, I have red oak throughout the house which were a medium/dark brown and wanted a lighter stain after the floors were completely sanded. The flooring guy told me that was harder to achieve and did a few sample boards. I chose one from the samples which didn’t look that bad but once it was done on all the floors the floor looks totally pink! I am in shock and cannot live with this. I need to do something ASAP. Please tell him how this can be corrected at this stage. It is holding up a major renovation now.

    June 11, 2021 at 10:26 pm
    • Reply Warveen Mosa

      Mine turned green, I was lucky that it was only one step coz I wanted to make sure it works first, so mainly this method will work but you gotta be patient and know basic chemicals reactions. The water which the lye is dissolve in has to be deionized water, any other water you use even distillexld water might give you bad results, or discoloration, like pink and green. Now how to fix it is to keep adding Hydrogen peroxide and drying is with a heat gun or hair dryer on hot setting. Keep doing this until it’s white enough and then neutralize lye by a mixture of vinegar and water 1% vinegar the rest water. Then dry again. This should make all the pigment or chemical reactions go away. Hope that helps.

      October 7, 2021 at 7:02 pm
  • Reply Warveen Mosa

    Thank you for sharing your knowledge, I actually tried this yesterday on one step in our new house, it’s red oak and I wanted it to match the new white oak flooring we got, before bleaching I sanded it and it looked pretty nice and white but still had that pink tint that bothered me , so I decided to give this a try, now it’s green 😂😂😂. Is there anyway that I can get that green tint out. Wish I could post a pic. I followed the instructions very carefully, and it did turn green the second lye went on the H. peroxide so it was an immediate reaction between the two materials. Why did this happen?

    October 6, 2021 at 2:02 pm
  • Reply Lori

    I’ve just completed “bleaching” my red oak cabinet door and drawer faces and am thrilled with the results! I used 30% hydrogen peroxide found at my local pool supply store followed by 100% lye. This combination rendered the wood blonde to which I applied Minwax Wood Finish Penetrating Stain in color Silvered Gray 282 for a warm driftwood effect. My cabinet maker is set to spray flat conversion varnish for a non yellowing, durable top coat. The cabinet boxes will be my next challenge! Thank you so much for posting these directions and illustrating so well. You gave me the courage to tackle this project!

    November 1, 2021 at 3:28 am
    • Reply Sheila

      I can’t find hydrogen peroxide in any of the pool stores around me! What specific product did you buy? Thanks so much.

      December 4, 2022 at 5:16 pm
  • Reply Staci Coon

    How messy is this technique? Like wood stripping messy or wood staining messy?
    Amazing information, thank you for sharing!

    February 24, 2022 at 3:40 am
  • Reply jeanne

    In the photo of the sample red oak board, there is another board underneath that is very white compared to the red oak sample. Is that also oak and did you bleach it as well?
    Also, where would one find deionized water?
    Thank you!

    April 5, 2022 at 4:48 pm
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