pale discolouration in teak

[falmouthmark]

Can anyone tell me what's going on here? We have a number of 3"x8" reclaimed teak beams. They're fine on the outside but on machining, some have a pale discoloration running through the timber. Very annoying!

http://www.woodenboatbuilding.co.uk/images/teak.jpg

[mucrewbtp]

Let them sit in the sun for a few days. When I was milling up lumber for my new teak deck the wood looked all orange with pale white streaks running through it after I cut it event hough it had looked good before. After a few days in the sun the color all turned back to the even teak color.

-Mike

[mucrewbtp]

On a side note, where did you find the reclaimed teak?

[jgmarine]

Hi,
Caused by exposing remaining fresh teak oils.??
Not yet Sun bleached....:eek:

[falmouthmark]

The beams came from the roof structure of an Indian warehouse - imported into the UK. We were really excited to have found some good old teak - until we sawed it up! Have left a piece in the sun to see what happens...

[cap'nRod]

It's called 'character', so enjoy it, as people pay big money for it when they're looking for wood with some. Old nail holes and screw holes also look excellent and exhibit pretty colors. It's salvaged wood, so enjoy it. Don't try and make it something its not, i.e. 'new'.

[62Dunphy]

good source for reclaimed teak is TerraMai.com
They also source a variety of other salvaged hardwoods.

[jonathanjoseph]

Leave it in the sun, it will change before your eyes. It will all end up looking pretty much the same. It may take a little. Cover half of the piece with something, leave it in the sun for an hour and come back and remove the cover and you'll see a sharp demarcation between the two areas.

Jonathan

[falmouthmark]

Thanks Jonathan, have put a piece in the sun - look forward to seeing the results...

[Don Kurylko]

Just sanding it with some 80 grit will make a difference. I have some teak boards that I recently re-sawed and they looked just like your photo. Exposure to air will allow the oils to oxidize and the colours will blend. Sun exposure, as suggested above, will accelerate the process.