I’m making bentwood rings with veneer, and currently purchased some quilted maple and walnut burl, both at 1/42 of an inch thick.
After soaking the veneer in simmering water the Walnut becomes so dark it’s hard to see the details on the finished ring (as shown in the ring on the right, and with the maple it darkens so that when I sand I get dark botches (center strip of ring on the left). I can fix the maple by sanding the whole strip, taking off that outer layer but it’s already quite thin so that’s not a great option.

Anyone have any ideas on how to get around this? Only thought I have for the Walnut is to bleach it.