On Sun, 31 Jul 2005 14:54:53 GMT, "habbi"
wrote:

I had some pine milled and areas of it have turned grey and look like there
was mould on it. Is there anyway to remove the grey ? If not will it show
through if I stain the whole piece with a honey or little darker collared
transparent stain? I thought it would be a good idea to let the wood dry
inside properly stacked but have since learned that outside in the sun and
rain would have been better. I moved it all out and spray it with javex to
kill the mould but there is still some grey.


If your pine was milled at greater than 19% moisture content, and if
you have attempted to let it air dry in a warm and humid environment,
you may get mold.

Depending on the type of spores that create the mold, it may bite
deeply into the wood.

My first alternative would be to sticker the slabs and enclose them
with a plastic tent. I would include a dehumidifier in the tent, with
a hose leading the water out of the tent, rather than using the catch
basin that comes with the unit.

If you milled to 4/4 true, you may get away with it. If you milled
closer to 3/4, I would skip plane and see how deep the color runs
before stickering.

Letting dry outside in "the sun and the rain" would not be a good idea
until you achieve less than a 19% mc, which is the mold threshold.
Actually, letting them dry in the sun and the rain is only good for
rough slabs that will be milled later, and it means that they are
under cover to the degree where the sun and the rain do not actually
hit them directly.

Certainly do not allow the pieces to dry in the direct sun, as they
will twist and warp into an unusable condition in short order.


Tom Watson - WoodDorker
tjwatson1ATcomcastDOTnet (email)
http://home.comcast.net/~tjwatson1/ (website)