How to Lighten a Wooden Cabinet (Lockdown Project no. 23...)

macman

I've recently sanded back and refinished a softwood cabinet which had seen better days. I applied a wood stain that was described as'mellow pine', but has come out very much darker than intended. Is there a chemical method to lighten the colour a bit (I've seen wood bleaching products)?
Resanding it to remove the finish is not really an option, as there is a lot of detail and mouldings on it. The only other method would be to paint it, which is not really the effect I want.

Norman_Castle

Wood bleach lightens the wood, not the finish. It might work on a wood stain which adds colour to the wood but not on a coloured finish. If your "mellow pine" is a coloured varnish wood bleach won't work. 

macman

No, it's a wood stain. Not a coloured varnish.

Norman_Castle

So its unfinished? Can you link to what you've used? If its an all in one stain and finish bleach wont work.

macman

No, it's not an all in one finish. It's a Ronseal wood stain, an old one. I've never come across an all in one finish.

Norman_Castle

If what you've used adds colour and protection to the wood it is an all in one stain and finish. Wood bleach has to soak into the wood to lighten it which cannot happen through a protective coating.

Jackmydad

Problem is, that unless you have an unseen area to try it out on, you don't know what effect anything which you try will have. The names manufacturers give stains are just a guide, the actual colour things finish up can differ considerably depending on the wood, and the prep work. 
Might be worth going over it with white spirit to see if you can lift some of the stain. That helps sometimes.
But be aware that whatever you do now could make things worse instead of better. 

macman

Norman_Castle said:

If what you've used adds colour and protection to the wood it is an all in one stain and finish. Wood bleach has to soak into the wood to lighten it which cannot happen through a protective coating.

Yes, I understand that. It's not something that adds a varnish or lacquer as well, it's just a wood stain. I can't link to the actual product, as it was an old tin and this job used it all up, and I chucked away the tin...
If anyone can link me to a recommended wood bleach product, that would be great.