How can I lighten oak stained tongue and groove?
Most oak will be a light beige brown when first prepared but will quickly darken to a mid brown If it were me I would try liming wax which is a little like white furniture polish rub it on then wipe it off some of the white will remain in the grain giving it a limed look. This would normally be carried out on new oak so depending on the existing colour may not be entirely satisfactory and you may have to paint with a whited thinned down paint to allow the grain to show through otherwise stripping or sanding is you only solution.
