Sap/Resin Veins? Help

Signed-In Members Don't See This Ad

Spinzwood

Member
Joined
Jul 25, 2017
Messages
57
Location
Santa Rosa, CA
I have a piece of wood I bought from a friend. I'm pretty sure it is Burbinga. It appears to have veins of resin running thru it. I hope the photo helps.

Is there a way to remove this resin from the surface? I've tried mineral spirits. I haven't soaked it.. but it didn't seem to do anything. I also tried a shot of Acetone to no avail. I'm not sure what would take this out.. but, on a finished piece it won't look very good.

Sorry the pic is not quite in focus where th sap is.. but, it's still obvious.
 

Attachments

  • Sap Pockets.jpg
    Sap Pockets.jpg
    248.2 KB · Views: 235
Signed-In Members Don't See This Ad

robutacion

Member
Joined
Aug 6, 2009
Messages
6,514
Location
Australia - SA Adelaide Hills
I have a piece of wood I bought from a friend. I'm pretty sure it is Burbinga. It appears to have veins of resin running thru it. I hope the photo helps.

Is there a way to remove this resin from the surface? I've tried mineral spirits. I haven't soaked it.. but it didn't seem to do anything. I also tried a shot of Acetone to no avail. I'm not sure what would take this out.. but, on a finished piece it won't look very good.

Sorry the pic is not quite in focus where th sap is.. but, it's still obvious.

G'day mate,

I've seen lots of woods with those sort of veins, they are no resinous as resins of conifers and the like, they are in fact part of that wood so, removing it would be an impossible task.

I would try some wood stain with a similar brown as the wood, sometimes those veins are of soft(ish) nature and would absorb well a stain.

This is all I can say at the moment...!

Good luck,

Cheers
George
 

jttheclockman

Member
Joined
Feb 22, 2005
Messages
19,082
Location
NJ, USA.
Just stopped by to vote on my shirt and mug so thought I would check some other posts.

I thought I might be of some help on a couple and this one is one of them. Not sure what you are making or what the finish product will be like but can say Acetone will dull the gloss of the resin. Let it soak in it for a few minutes and then wipe down. Now if you plan on putting a finish on it you need to do it soon after you wiped it down or the resin will ooze out again. So suggestion is make the project in final form before trying to remove the resin. That is very resinous wood. If you are not going to put a finish on it then it is what it is and nothing will hide it. If you are going to finish in an oil finish then all you are doing is adding to the oil resin. Those spots will be shiney all the time. Good luck.
 

Spinzwood

Member
Joined
Jul 25, 2017
Messages
57
Location
Santa Rosa, CA
Thanks guys.. I'm making a shaving brush for my son. I will try a stain on the wood before I get to the finished size.. If that works.. I'm golden.. if not..Try something else. :)
 

magpens

Member
Joined
Feb 2, 2011
Messages
15,913
Location
Canada
To me, it does not look like Bubinga. . And I don't recall Bubinga being resinous as you describe, but I have not worked with it for a while.
 

Spinzwood

Member
Joined
Jul 25, 2017
Messages
57
Location
Santa Rosa, CA
Still not sure what the wood is.. either Burbinga or Wenge. Don't think it's dark enough for Wenge. Anyhow, I took a picture of the board. As you can see, I added some dark Minwax Sealer Stain to see if I could color in the white stuff. I even tried using a small wire brush on it to see if I could scratch it below the surface.. nope, it's hard.

Ok, I had no issues trying to add a picture to my OP.. but I see no paperclip to add one to a reply. Help here?
 

Spinzwood

Member
Joined
Jul 25, 2017
Messages
57
Location
Santa Rosa, CA
I have a piece of wood I bought from a friend. I'm pretty sure it is Burbinga. It appears to have veins of resin running thru it. I hope the photo helps.

Is there a way to remove this resin from the surface? I've tried mineral spirits. I haven't soaked it.. but it didn't seem to do anything. I also tried a shot of Acetone to no avail. I'm not sure what would take this out.. but, on a finished piece it won't look very good.

Sorry the pic is not quite in focus where th sap is.. but, it's still obvious.

I couldn't add a photo to my last reply.. so here it is. I used dark Minwax Stain Sealer to see if I could stain that sap/resin/whatever. It, obviously, didn't touch it.
 

Attachments

  • More Sap.jpg
    More Sap.jpg
    207.8 KB · Views: 158

Spinzwood

Member
Joined
Jul 25, 2017
Messages
57
Location
Santa Rosa, CA
Just found out the wood is Wenge. When I looked it up on line.. it does in places say that there are fine light lines in it that look like cream colored cat scratches... That describes what I have. Still hoping for a way to hide that cream color "naturally"
 

eharri446

Member
Joined
Mar 17, 2016
Messages
1,035
Location
Marietta, GA
Either that or soak you pieces in bleach for a couple of hours and then let it dry and turn it. I did that to some and it came out really nice. It looked white with dark stripes.
 

Spinzwood

Member
Joined
Jul 25, 2017
Messages
57
Location
Santa Rosa, CA
Thanks.. but not interested in turning it white. I've tried acetone, mineral spirits and alcohol to try to soften it. Nothing works.. I tried a coat of Minwax stain and seal on the piece in the last photo.. obviously it didn't work. So, I finish turned the piece I'm working on and bought some dark Minwax Jacobean stain.. It's penetrating now. I'll wipe it off and try another coat tomorrow. We'll see what happens. BUT, I know it will not penetrate the resin..
 

robutacion

Member
Joined
Aug 6, 2009
Messages
6,514
Location
Australia - SA Adelaide Hills
I have a piece of wood I bought from a friend. I'm pretty sure it is Burbinga. It appears to have veins of resin running thru it. I hope the photo helps.

Is there a way to remove this resin from the surface? I've tried mineral spirits. I haven't soaked it.. but it didn't seem to do anything. I also tried a shot of Acetone to no avail. I'm not sure what would take this out.. but, on a finished piece it won't look very good.

Sorry the pic is not quite in focus where th sap is.. but, it's still obvious.

I couldn't add a photo to my last reply.. so here it is. I used dark Minwax Stain Sealer to see if I could stain that sap/resin/whatever. It, obviously, didn't touch it.

Well, I may have been incorrect with my assumption as to what that was, I'm not familiar with that wood so that makes it a little more difficult to determine, however, we have woods here in Australia that has those identical veins and they are not resin (resinous), the wood stain does work, reason I make the recommendation I did, I apologise for being incorrect.

I could "suggest" a few other things but, I'm starting to doubt if anything will darken those white veins, sorry...!

Cheers
George
 

Talltim

Member
Joined
Mar 12, 2017
Messages
650
Location
Tennessee
My solution to various woods is to make the uniqueness a feature and develop a story line for it. "What is amazing about this wood is the little white streaks. They are unique and really make this piece a one of a kind."

Embrace the beauty of diversity.
 
Last edited:
Top Bottom