: Love the ebonizing that you guys talked about the other day. That
: is a very interesting process and the kids think I'm magic.

: My buddy says he wants white and black cabinets. We figure that the
: ebonizing the red oak will do the black. What should we use to
: do the white that would leave a similar grain openness?

: Don T

A different species of wood?

Basswood is quite white, and stays quite white as it ages. Maple is quite white, but yellows a bit as it ages. Birch turns pinkish and light brown as it ages. Pear stays quite white, but is hard to find in large pieces. You should be able to find pearwood veneer that you could splice, but that would be difficult and time-consuming. Almost all traditional finishes have an amber tint which accentuates the turn in color. Modern professional-quality waterbourne finishes do not, they are "water white."

They also make wood bleaches, which would be an option for making things "white," but it wouldn't make red oak white, and I don't think it would stop the eventual color change from oxidation.

There are also pickling stains that impart a kind of white hue.

Usually things are made white by either bleaching or applying an opaque color. There isn't really a dye that will do it.

m