rough cut lumber stains

[Earl in WV]

how do i remove water stains from some rough cut lumber i am putting on the walls of our camp. also would like to remove the stains from the stickers, dont want to sand if possible going for the rustic look.any help would be appreciated. thank you Earl Lilly

[Frank Drew]

Earl,

I'm not sure how you can do it and keep the rough-sawn surface; I'd think anything you do, from removing wood to bleaching, would leave traces. I've had sticker stain that went deep enough to make the wood unusable (oak stickers (wrong!) with sycamore).

Maybe stain the entire boards with something dark enough to mask the obvious sticker stains but not so dark that it ruins the look you're after??

[Peter Quinn]

If they are iron stains from straps you can try oxocylic bleach, for other stains you may be forced to use an A-B bleach for the whole board to achieve an even color. Nasty stuff, take every precaution indicated on the package, work out doors. Perhaps a bleaching stain may work, a sort of translucent coating? Test pieces are in order.

Have you tried leaving some out in the sun? UV rays have very powerful bleaching power with some species