Bleaching Logs Before Staining

Part of my job this past week has been to get our log walls back into shape before staining and top coat.

I’ve chosen a pickled white, or white wash look for the interior look of our home. As a family we chose a stain called Sandalwood for the exterior.

Both are light stains, but the Sandalwood is a warmer hue that brings out the veins of color in the wood while overall giving the exterior walls a warm and gentle tone.

As you may have read in an earlier post of mine, the logs are stained by the floor joists above them and/or the decking screws, as well as our hands and boots while we worked on building the home.

So I’ve been bleaching them to bring them back to their original beauty.

Some are as bad as the photos I shot for you today - below.

One pass over the logs with 1/3 bleach solution (no scrubbing yet) brings the logs back this much (below). The top log hasn’t been touched by bleach yet. Another scrub and perhaps a sand is required to bring them back fully to their original beauty.