i know that caustic soda will change the color of the wood,depends what sort of wood it is,but this can be sorted to apply hydrogen peroxide to get rid of the unwanted color and than stain it.the sideboard is made around 1920-1930 I would say they didnt have sand blasters I assume:smile:.anyway...I just tried to put some concetrated caustic soda on piece of scrap wood left it for 20 mins and then brushed it with brass brush,its not the same but very similar,probably better way is leave it to dry and sand it with sponge or steel wool,will give it to go,see what sort of result can I get.thanks for the advice anyway.