new lumber cleaning

Dec 02, 2007 10 Replies

Is there any reasonable way other than sanding to remove various marks (ink, etc) put on boards by sawmills, wholesalers, distributors, retailers, etc. for identification purposes. Sanding may remove more wood than I so desire leaving uneven surface. Wood needed for project in which I desire a natural finish.


No. If it's in the wood, you have to sand it off.

the saw actualy burns the wood, no bleach or acid will remove it, sanding is the only way.

What kind of wood, first off?

Depending on what the marks are, "depends"... :)

Water-soluble can be washed, inks or similar may be able to be removed w/ appropriate solvents/bleach.

Pencil marks can, for the most part, be erased like on paper.

Probably the best bet is to actually buy rough-sawn or thicker material than your final finished thickness and surface it yourself, though.

The newer portable thickness planers are not that expensive and do amazingly good work for their size.

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Sometimes the pieces on the inside of the bundle have fewer marks. Don't know of any solvents for the inks, no- they are designed to be weather-resistant.

It is hard to do furniture-making or whatever, with framing-grade lumber. Have you looked at finish-grade or better woods, or hardwoods? Those are usually only marked on the end grain, around here. Yeah, they cost a lot more, but what can you do?

aem sends...

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