Strange Blotching in Finish

[John Hollander]

I have been finishing out a walnut live edge coffee table and had some odd spots show up. So far the top was sanded to 320 and I applied two coats of BLO (the first coat sanded in with 400 grit sandpaper). After that I have applied two very thin coats of gloss Arm R Seal. Any idea what could cause these two spots and how to remove them? I used some epoxy to fill some small cracks/splits but I don't believe I got any on this part of the table. Looking closely at the pores in the wood it doesn't appear that they are plugged or sealed to create uneven absorption. I am thinking about going back to 220 grit and seeing if they will sand out. Would this lead to any issues having already applied BLO and the Arm R Seal?

[Steve Jenkins]

I think that the most common cause is sweat. Maybe forearms resting on it for a few seconds. If that's the case it needs to be taken down to bare wood and resanded.