How To Remove The Orange Tone In Older Wood Furniture

With its timeless elegance and the way it effortlessly brings warmth to any space, wood furniture is unsurprisingly the go-to choice for many homeowners looking to infuse their homes with character and charm. But while quality wood furniture can last for decades if you take care of it properly, some pieces don't always maintain their original look, which could take away from your initial design vision. As the surface reacts with oxygen and ultraviolet rays, wood pieces sealed with an oil-based varnish or aged polyurethane might develop an orange tint over time. As a result, you could be left with a warmer look that's not necessarily bad, but it might feel dated in the wrong setting. Luckily, you can avoid displaying wood finishes that are dating your home by treating wood pieces that have turned orange with a blue toner.

Neutralizing a certain tone requires using a color that is its opposite on the color wheel. For orange, the opposite on the color wheel is blue, which is why a toner in this hue can help cancel out the undesired tint in your wood furniture. To lighten and brighten wood with total ease using this orange-fighting method, you'll just need to round up a couple of products and tools: a bottle of blue toner, some 220-grit sandpaper, a sanding pad, and a clear, water-based topcoat.

Start by gently scuffing the surface of the entire wood piece using your sandpaper and gray sanding pad. Once you're done sanding off the top layer, you'll need to wipe off the wood residue to get a clean surface for applying toner. The best way to clean wood furniture from sanding dust is to dampen a cloth and gently wipe the surface. Now, it's time for the star ingredient: Apply a thin layer of blue toner, spreading it evenly over the entire surface to cancel out the orange tones. Once the orange hue is neutralized, top it all off with a water-based finish that won't change colors over time.

Due to the nature of some wood furniture, it's sometimes impossible to avoid orange tones altogether. That said, you may be able to protect your favorite wood pieces and slow down the natural color-changing process by keeping them out of direct sunlight. UV exposure is the number one enemy here, so taking steps to limit it is one way to delay the orange tone appearance, at least for a little while longer.