I stained a cedar outdoor railing with an oil based stain. But there are sections that keep developing patches of white spots. I can't figure it out. I have sanded it to the wood I even stained on top of it. I tried wiping it off with mineral spirit. When it is wet it look like it is fine but when the mineral spirit dry or the layer of oil based stain dries the darn white spots pop up again. I have no idea what to do.
Lex
Sounds like something was previously spilled maybe that has been absorbed into the wood--grease splatters from a grill, perhaps? Wood being porous, if something else has been previously absorbed, it's virtually impossible to get all traces that aren't on the surface off so the stain is probably just not being taken up in those places. That's only one guess, w/o seeing what the spots look like or any other information it's pretty much a crapshoot as to what specifically is the cause.
I can think of two things you could try--if take back to bare wood, oxalic acid (wood bleach, most deck cleaners) might make a difference. Otherwise, go to a non-penetrating solid stain to cover the surface w/ an opaque topcoat.
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