I have had all sorts of requests regarding the colour of a finished stock, all I can remember folks wanted the finish to make the wood rich dark and beautiful even if the timber was a piece of fence post, to make things lighter was never a request. So I have given this posting some thought as to what I would do to make the wood lighter. My first thought was to use wood bleach that is obtainable from some wood finishing suppliers though having tried this product household bleach works just as well for less money but the outcome of either I was not much impressed for the work put in. That said the only other product I could think of that did not darken the wood surface to much though what ever you put on will effect the woods natural colour to a greater or lesser extent, so the one product that I know that will perform well keeping the rain oil and hand sweat out of the wood and does not add self colour is "Melamine Sanding Sealer" I have used in other wood finishing situations especially trying not to effect the wood colour. Because this product is more of a trade finish small quantities are a little on the expensive side but worth a try.
