Prior to the sale of their home, this West Jordan family had us refinish the White Oak in their kitchen, dining area and front hallway. The owner was tired of the dark wood and had us do a white stain over the White Oak to lighten it up even more than its natural color.
In order to accomplish a lighter look, the wood needs to be water popped to allow the most stain possible into the grain. White stain is easily chemically reactivated, so a water-based finish is preferable over an acid or oil-based finish.
Below are some photos of the process. You can see the original dark stain color around the edges of some of the photos.
