how to remove iron stain from maple

[Greg Martin]

I noticed some staining, probably from a steel clamp on my maple and wonder how to remove it ???????????

[Michael Lewis]

You can try lightly scraping or sanding the surface, and if the stain goes away then you are home free. But on the other hand iron stains are rather permanent, and if it is penetrated into the wood you will likely not remove it. Oxalic acid is sold as a wood bleaching agent, and it MAY help but it tends to discolor the wood, so there you go.

[Bryan Bear]

If it is iron staining from a clamp, it probably is very superficial and should scrape/sand away easily. Let's hope for that. . .

[John Sonksen]

it's always a good idea to put a thin strip of wood between your clamp bars and what you're gluing up to avoid this. Some woods stain worse than others, oak for example tends to go kind of deep. I'll bet you can scrape it off though.

[Greg Martin]

believe me I know better---rookie move. I scraped about 50% out. I have some wood bleach diluted .will let you know how it goes, should be fine fingers crossed.

[Greg Martin]

tried diluted wood bleach and it didnt work.There is 2 spots on the cutaway area that are pretty deep,to deep to sand out.
I received my oxalic acid powder yesterday . so I thought Id try a weak mix like 10-1?? what mix has worked for you??

[Dennis Weaver]

I have no idea really but I know if you want to take paint off old hinges you boil them in vinegar. They say to use vinegar to clean your coffee pot. Maybe heat up some vinegar and try that. Or maybe acetone. Acetone is like the most potent solvent I ever saw! Well maybe paint strippers.

[John Sonksen]

I don't think solvent is going to do anything to it to be honest, it can break down a film finish but it's not going to go in and lift out the stain. If you can't sand or scrape it off maybe you can modify your finish like do a darker stain color, a burst or a solid color? I know it's not ideal but it's better than replacing the top right?

[Michael Lewis]

It is all too easy to make things worse when trying to make it better. Remember this, because it is true. Be true to the physical design and structure, beyond that make it as pretty as you can, but don't diminish the structure.

[Dennis Weaver]

http://chemistry.about.com/od/cleaningt ... verust.htm

I don't know, that was a search result for remove rust stain.

lemon juice.

[Barry Daniels]

Lemon juice makes chemical sense because it is a weak acid. Rust is iron oxide which is normally dissolved by acid solutions.

[Greg Martin]

michael Im glad you brought that up, Ive already been thinking that I might make it worse than it is by using chemicals. I was thinking that I might use a diluted black or tobacco dye and accent the figure in the rims and maple back to help conceal the stains. The stains are minimum and follow the figure, not against the grain so to speak. Im in a holding pattern. I have a rim that split and it has the same stains from the same faulty clamp procedure Ill do the chemical testing that and see what it does,and report back.

[John Mueller]

A nice tobacco burst finish will hide a lot of things. This might be one of them.

[Michael Lewis]

Use a caul for that clamp in the future. Anything to prevent direct metal contact with damp or wet wood.

[Greg Martin]

I mixed a small batch of oxcylic acid at 5-1 with mineral free water.I soaked a few layers of white paper towel and layed it over the stain for 15 minutes,when I pulled the towel off the stain was mostly vanished,I then scrubbed the area with 80 grit sand paper dryed it and repeated for another 10 minutes.
Im thankful and amazed that the stain is gone completely. After a few more minutes I used water and a white cloth to rinse off any acid and stain that may have been left. Now its back in the body mold to dry out. I think I dodged a bullet this time . Ive now got a box for special size blocks shims and cauls !! also found my extra true grip clamps in storage (10) to use in stead of the old taylor clamps, so this wont ever happen again.
Just for 4 giggles has anyone tried lemon juice and salt for this type of stain removal,it came up in a google search ????

[Patrick Hanna]

Well, there you have it! Glad it worked and now we all have a possible fix if we ever face the same problem. I, too, will be interested to know if anyone has used lemon juice.