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Ted Mooney, P.E. RET
The authoritative public forum
for Metal Finishing 1989-2025
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Bleaching Saguaro (Cactus) Skeletons
Q. I work on Saguaro Skeletons and am looking to bleach the color of the wood and Clorox doesn't work and I have tried commercial bleach and it doesn't work either. I have seen bleached skeletons at art shows and they are really white. Do you have any ideas for me ?
Thank You
Mike
Wood Worker - Surprise, Arizona. U.S.A.
February 24, 2017
Facts/ Lore/ photos"
by Leo W. Banks
on AbeBooks
or eBay or
Amazon
(affil links)
Q. I'm trying to bleach or lighten saguaro wood. I've sanded and cleaned the piece but would like to make it lighter. I have tried bleach without any success.
Julie Filauri- Arizona USA
August 22, 2017
Q. Did anyone ever get back to you with an answer? I am trying to do the same thing but can never get them truly white like the artist.
Thank you for any info.
I see this is an old post but still interested.
Hobbyist - Surprise Arizona
February 12, 2022
A. Hi Marsha (and others),
I'm neither an artist nor have I tried it, but there is wood bleach/oxalic acid
⇦ this on
eBay or
Amazon [affil links]
, which may work better than chlorine bleach.
Thread 54875, "Oxalic acid as wood bleach?" may be interesting to you.
Luck & Regards,
Ted Mooney, P.E. RET
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey
February 2022
A. Commenting on the latest post and agreeing that there's wood bleach. I am going to try it out in the next few days.
Daisy AZHobbyist - Tempe Arizona
February 21, 2024
Tip: This forum was designed to build camaraderie through sharing of tips, opinions, pics & personalities.
When people withhold their info, readers may be less likely to believe that they will share in turn.
A. I have bleached hundreds of Saguaro and Cholla Skeletons in my life. What you need to do is use a 2 gallon bug sprayer and use regular chlorine bleach. Pour the whole gallon of bleach into the sprayer then rinse the empty gallon container from the bleach you just used and fill the empty bleach bottle between a quarter to a third with water, then pour in and mix it with the bleach and make sure that you shake up the bleach and water before each use. Spray the Saguaro with lots of the mixture, (drench the Saguaro) then let dry and do it several more times until you eventually get to the desired look. Everything you spray and let dry it will get whiter and whiter.
Royal Marks/ Kactus King- Sun City Arizona
September 26, 2024
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