What do you think this discolouration of wood is? Sycamore

[Tetsuaiga]

I have some sycamore which has the discolouration as you can see below.

Does anyone have any idea what it is?

I think I will dye or stain maybe even try bleaching to make it a more consistent colour, can anyone recommend what would work best?

Thanks

 

[Harbo]

It's quite common with sycamore and a natural occurrence.
To avoid this it should be air dried stacked vertically or so I'm told?

Rod

 

[Peter Sefton]

It's quite common with sycamore and a natural occurrence.
To avoid this it should be air dried stacked vertically or so I'm told?

Rod

You are right Harbo, and it can be very difficult to find clean white Sycamore. I have seen special plastic low contact stickers that are used when kiln drying but they can also cause staining. The other important factor is making sure the tree is felled before the sap starts to rise in late winter/early spring. Not many timber yards can produce clean sycamore so if any body knows of a good supplier please let us know.
Cheers Peter

 

[Tetsuaiga]

Ah interesting to know its fairly common. I only managed to get some small bits that were near enough all white out of quite a bit that I got.

Will a stain or dye cover it over so it won't show up much? Or even some type of bleach, I actually tried oxalic acid bleach and it maybe helped a little but not enough.

 

[woodiedonald]

I pretty sure its caused by moisture getting trapped by something when the wood is drying, that's how the common dark strips occur, the strips are from the stickers/skids from the drying process. I reckon most timber yards don't care about it, just saw it and sell it is the attitude. A right pain to have to work around these marks, they're usually 3mm deep or so, maybe yours are less due to being small and not sticker size.

If you wanted to bleach it there is some laboratory grade stuff that's a 2 part mixture, it might or might not get rid of those. I think you need a genuine reason of sorts to get it, its harmful stuff.

Then again you could just make a feature of the stains!

 

[Peter Sefton]

We have tried the A/B bleach and it didn't help the Sycamore took on a pink tinge.

 

[Cheshirechappie]

I agree with the comments above - it looks as if the timber has been stacked to dry with some dirt or mud splashes on the board surface. Those stains and stick marks are a real pain to get rid of. Like Woodiedonald, the only way I've managed to lose them is to plane them off, losing about 1/8" from either side as Woodiedonald says.

Surfing about, I did discover that John Boddy Timber state in their technical information for Sycamore that they use specially developed plastic stickers to avoid 'the expensive end-rearing stage' of drying, and can therefore supply timber without sticker-marks. I haven't found any other suppliers that mention this, though some may still end-rear or use non-staining sticks. (For those not familiar with the term, end-rearing is the practice of propping fresh-sawn boards vertically for a few days or weeks so that the surface dries enough to not stain when the timber is stacked properly for seasoning. It needs space and extra handling in the yard, so in a commercial environment I'd imagine it's not too popular.)

 

[marcus]

I had a batch of not great sycamore recently, and fixed it with A/B bleach, but I had to do two applications — only on the second one did it go properly white. Worth a try on a scrap?

 

[yetloh]

if any body knows of a good supplier please let us know.
Cheers Peter

Peter,

I know of two, but both are in West Sussex, so rather a long way from you. One is W. L West & sons at Selham near Petworth and the other is English Woodlands at Cocking near Midhurst. Both seem able to reliably supply good stain free sycamore,

Jim

 

[Peter Sefton]

Thanks Yetloh I will put their details in my little black book, and if things don't work out I will try the A/B bleach again Marcus.
Cheers Peter

 

[mrpercysnodgrass]

We have tried the A/B bleach and it didn't help the Sycamore took on a pink tinge.

For stubborn stains you can bleach up to three times with A+B which usually takes out any stain or blemish, after this you have the risk of the timber turning grey. One method of increasing the bleaching effect is to use Ammonia 880 instead of the A solution. You will need breathing apparatus or do it outside with the wind at your back. Neat Ammonia is more effective at drawing any pigment ( natural or not ) up to the surface which makes it easier for the Hydrgen Peroxide to get to work on it. Once satisfied with the bleach you can neutralise with Acetic acid, white vinegar and or lots of water and leave three days before finishing.

 

[Ian]

The best and cleanest sycamore I have found is from John Boddy ask for Trevor. They are extremely good to deal with and have ripple as well as plain. My order was mail order and they picked out master grade quality ( you will pay extra for the very best) I have used some already and it is the cleanest I have every used

Best

Ian

 

[Rustybin]

A bit of a thread resurrection...

I have been doing a bit of work trying to remove the sticker stains from sycamore using bleach and the finding have been that domestic bleach treatment gets rid of the sticker stain but as mentioned above also turns the wood pink, not initially but once you start to machine sand it. I am not sure whether this is inherent in the bleach or as a result of neutralising it with vinegar. A&B bleach removes the pink stain. Hand sanding seems to prevent it coming back. As sycamore is so light to start it doesn't seem over bleached and there is still a good deal of character in the wood.

Hope that helps.