# Walnut lumber with white blotchy spots, Why?



## doubleDD (Oct 21, 2012)

I was re-sawning some walnut logs today that I've had for a few years and noticed every piece has these white streaks or blotchy look to it. Anyone ever seen this before and know why this happens? I thought this could be spalting in walnut? The logs were 18'' in diameter cut 4 years ago. It has a moisture content of 12%.
Originally the tree was struck by lightning and the top was blown off. I did cut some smaller logs up for projects over the years from the same tree and never saw any of this. Just some beautiful walnut with the white sapwood on the edges. Any help would be appreciated. Not sure if I like this look yet.




































Thanks Dave


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## WDHLT15 (Aug 15, 2011)

White rot from a fungus.


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## mike1950 (Jun 23, 2013)

White rot


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## DocSavage45 (Aug 14, 2010)

Dave,

Guess you got your answer.

Charles Neil has a method to change the look of the wood with application of different dyes to even out or darken woods.

Maybe you can check with him as he has been posting in the forum recently.


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## Jim Jakosh (Nov 24, 2009)

WHITE ROT


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## ralbuck (Mar 12, 2012)

When I worked for the lumber yard any wood that we were going to store outside was very carefully stacked to have many air spaces and then rotated fairly often also.

This was to prevent the mold-even in the relatively dry ND climate it did develop.


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## JoeLyddon (Apr 22, 2007)

WOW! I guess it was White Rot! ... whatever that is…

... I have never seen that happen to Walnut either…

I would listen to Charles Neil for any advice on the subject…


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## 2436 (Dec 3, 2014)

Thanks for pointing this out Dave, I'm going out to check some roughed out Black Walnut bowls I have.


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## doubleDD (Oct 21, 2012)

OK, so it looks like I have walnut with white rot. I went back to check it out and it is very stable to say the least. I may have to do some finishing on it to see what it will look like. I wonder if I can somehow stain those blotches so they don't stand out. Maybe Charles will chime in and give me some ideas. Don't know if he does PM's.
Has anyone ever made anything with white rot walnut ?


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## DocSavage45 (Aug 14, 2010)

Dave,

You can pm Charles. here is his website

http://www.cn-woodworking.com/


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## Kentuk55 (Sep 21, 2010)

Found this video on the almighty Youtube:


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## ellen35 (Jan 1, 2009)

Bought several rough walnut boards for a project. When I planed them down, they looked just like this. Seems there is a lot of this stuff around. I bought from a very reputable dealer but I don't think I have any recourse.
Useless….


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## rwe2156 (May 7, 2014)

Wear a respirator when cutting wood like this?


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## Underdog (Oct 29, 2012)

> Wear a respirator when cutting wood like this?
> 
> - rwe2156


Anytime you're cutting wood with any type of fungus, it's a good idea to wear a respirator.


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## CharlesNeil (Oct 21, 2007)

I have seen this in walnut and 'mahogany, as a matter of fact i am working with some 16/4 mahogany now, that i am cutting into pencil post bed post, and it has this . Before you get too excited, , first try wiping it with some Denatured alcohol and see if the color returns when wet. I have seen this especially in Claro Walnut, I have also seen it return to color after it was exposed to the air, not sure why , but it can do it.

If its truly a mold, then try some peroxide, or uses a mixture of borax, ( good old 20 mule team) of about a cup to a gallon of water, or even a little stronger, you will have to use hot water to get it to dissolve. it will usually kill mold.

Worth a try before trashing the wood


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## doubleDD (Oct 21, 2012)

Wearing a respirator, good idea, since I usually sneeze a lot when cutting walnut anyway for some reason.

Charles, thanks much for some info on this. I was looking forward to using this on a couple nice project boxes. I will get right on it starting wit a few pieces in the open air and a few with the alcohol and peroxide. I will get back on results. Fingers crossed.


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## CharlesNeil (Oct 21, 2007)

not alcohol and peroxide, its either or, and if neither of them work try the borax , as a last resort we can bleach them , but lets cross that bridge when we get to it, because then we have to neutralize and all that stuff,


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## doubleDD (Oct 21, 2012)

Exactly what I did. Marking test pieces, one with alcohol, one with peroxide. Another one outside, and one in the sun outside. I'll see what changes occur before going on with the borax or bleach. Does this take action right away, couple hours, days? Thanks Charles for looking in.
Oh, and for the heck of it I tried some TSP. Its been about an hour and the TSP one is starting to look up.


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## CharlesNeil (Oct 21, 2007)

Tsp can also help, if its not turning it pretty quickly , then we need to go "advanced" , but give it overnight at least,

Tsp and bleach is used quite often, but then you need to neutralize it with some baking soda, about a cup to a gallon of water


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## CharlesNeil (Oct 21, 2007)

On some woods like oak Tsp can darken, then you use the bleach to lighten it back up, oh doesnt this get to be fun,


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## DocSavage45 (Aug 14, 2010)

Charles,

Thanks for helping out!


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## doubleDD (Oct 21, 2012)

Charles, its been a couple hours and the one test piece with the TSP is looking decent. Will give it more time and most likely still try the Borax. I remember my mom using that when we were kids. I will post results in a day or so to show the difference. Things are looking up.


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## CharlesNeil (Oct 21, 2007)

cool., Mold/mildew is a PIA, and I am heavily involved in dealing with it as we speak, learning alot,


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## WDHLT15 (Aug 15, 2011)

I had a dry pack of walnut get wet from a small leak in the roof of the shed. The leak was small and is was not easy to see that a little moisture was migrating down into the stack. The boards in the middle of the pack had these white rot splotches in the boards. It is caused when the boards are flat stacked and the moisture content is still high enough to support fungal growth. Not sure what that moisture content is, but it is likely between 20% to 30%.


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## doubleDD (Oct 21, 2012)

Went to look at the boards this morning and they looked somewhat better than yesterday. Upon closer inspection I noticed no difference at all. A different sheen from the light exposed all the spot again. I washed off the TSP and I can see no difference. Yesterday I also mixed a batch of TSP and bleach and what happened is the bleach actually washed up some of the natural walnut color to make it look better. But after cleaning it off the results were still the same, blotchy, spotted. So I'm back to square one. I decided to use some ash for the project and move this problem to the side and work on it on and off. Any suggestions are welcome.
I will pick up some borax today hopefully if I find it at the store and try that next.


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## soob (Feb 3, 2015)

That looks like internal decay, not mold growing on the outside of boards that got wet. You often see that in live trees that are starting to rot inside. You said you've had these logs for years. They rotted. May have been rotten when the trees were still alive. There's probably nothing you can do about it. Throw it away.


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## doubleDD (Oct 21, 2012)

OK, the Borax is on. I'll give it some time to see if there are any changes. Fingers crossed.

soob, you have a good point there. The walnut is very solid, even the white spots. If only it had a look of spalted lumber. One way or another, this will get used.


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## 000 (Dec 9, 2015)

Have you tried any stain or finish over them to see how it changes?


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## clin (Sep 3, 2015)

I know nothing about this, but have a question. Is this something you found after cutting the boards. I.E., it was on the inside, or is this something on the surface?

I could see mold or rot developing on the outside of cut boards, but not the inside. I do understand that rot can develop or at least work it's way well inside a living tree, but just wonder about after it has been cut and stacked.


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## doubleDD (Oct 21, 2012)

jbay, I just finished trying some walnut stain and another area with some GF pre conditioner first and then the stain. Still looks the same.

clin, I found this after cutting them on the bandsaw. I don't remember seeing any indication of mold or rot on the outside.


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