Problems with Pine


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I recently purchased some pine from my local builder's supply store. After about 1 week of aclimatizing in my garage some of the boards started excreting rather large volumes of gooey, golder sap. Does anyone know how to dissolve the sap and get rid of the sticky residue? Thanks for the help.

The Flannel Wood Tic

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Paul has the right answer. I ran into this a few weeks back and just used denatured alcohol to clean it right up. Mineral spirits worked as well but the alcohol flashed off faster. You may need to keep an eye on that pine for a little while still as it may have more to expel as the moisture continues to drop. This is indicative of a tree that was not too long ago still in the ground: typical home center stuff in other words.

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I build toys with fir, pine and hardwoods. My personal preference for finishing pine is to use a half pound cut non waxed shellac as a sealer, then the Varathane, sanding between coats. The shellac seals everything. I am sure that most sanding sealers will do the same.

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No finish will ever stop sap bleed out. It will just add to the complications as it tries to seep. Just like no finish will ever truly stop wood movement. The key here is to let the pine dry and acclimate at least another month, maybe more. Patience will pay off when you work it without any problems.

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While building Windsor chairs one of the White Pine seat blanks had a lot of sap. In order to remove it they use the alcohol or mineral spirits to get it clean. Then they used a heat gun and the sap flowed right out and continued to clean it up with alcohol until it was all gone. They said if you left it in it would pose a problem to the finish down the road. Best of luck.

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