Ash turned black

[thirsty]

I'm cleaning an ash floor grate that is black with age, fairly typical w/ ash. I have a two part teak cleaner that will "bleach it", but don't want to go that route. Any suggestions on something mild that will work & not bleach the wood?

 

[Todd Bradshaw]

I can't imagine that it would bleach it any lighter than ash is when new. Have you tried it on a spot to see what happens? I've pretty much always had to grind down to clean wood to solve the black fungus problem on ash and would be interested in any chemical treatment that would actually remove the stuff without heavy sanding.

 

[Rollin Thurlow]

The two part cleaner that I have used does a good job of restoring the wood to something like a natural color. They don't bleach out all the color like regualr household bleach would do. Use Todd's advise and try a spot and see what happens. Standby with the sander too.

 

[thirsty]

Thanks for the feedback and push, I did end up using a two part cleaner, worked great.

 

[Fitz]

I'm a believer.

I gotta say I used some cheaper two part hardware store variety teak cleaner on a 100-year old ash seat, and after about an hour of some soaking and scrubbing the seat looked like new. I was very happy with the results. You wouldn't believe the amount of crud that came off...oh wait, that is "patina"!!!! Kidding, I really do like the look of the seat now.

Fitz.