Sanding Re staining Cedar doors patchy timber

[pcp20us]

Hi All

Quick run done.
40 year old cedar doors, stained with sikkens and left for 10 or 20 years. The finish has gone very dark. Sanding of the old stain and sanding to get an even colour finish on timber, However the timber is still discoloured. Used oxcilic acid and also deck cleaner, but finish is still uneven. see pix 3

Instead of throwing more wood product at it, hence $$. Seeing if any advice can be found here. or is it a case of ignore it?


1st pix is sanded re stained (sikkens cedar door) uneven finish can be seen,
Pix 2 unsanded door.
pix 3 sanded door, wiped with turps to show darkened timber

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Thanks in advance.

[rustynail]

The old Sikkens stain was probably oil based and, in western red cedar, would have penetrated far deeper than you are sanding. To reach unstained timber may well be beyond the depth you are prepaired to go, due to mouldings etc. End grain will also absorb more stain than face grain giving a darker look. This is often a problem with staining raised and fielded panels.
As you have already tried with oxalic acid unsuccessfuly, I can only suggest Nappysan. Dont ask me why this works better than oxalic alone but is does seem to. I'm not saying this is a sure fix but wouild be worth a try.
The old Sikkens stain is a hard one to remove without damaging the natural wood.

[pcp20us]

cheers rusty nail.. I have tried nappysan , that what I use as wood cleaner, as it sure does work. It did pull out some dirt but the uneveness is stgill there. Yes just read about wood conditioners, which are apparently used to stop the stain seeping to far into the timber.. As they are quiet dried out I want to use the sikkens as it seems to soak into the timber, which this cedar needs as it very dried out.. So thanks, think i just live with the nice colouring patterns!