It can be quite a challenge to remove water stains from unfinished wood. Water stains can form in many ways. They may appear to permanently stain finished wood, but actually they can be easily removed with either table salt or an iron. If you want to know how to remove water stains from unfinished wood, read on:
Method 1: Make a paste of salt and water and apply it to the stained wood. With a clean and wet towel, rub the paste into the stains gently. Keep rubbing the stains till the stains vanish. Next, wipe the paste away from the stains and repeat till the stains are completely removed.
Method 2: Use a fine grit sandpaper to sand the surface. Pause from time to time to wipe away all dust. Use this time to see how far the stains have been removed. Ensure that you don’t sand too much wood that you have a depression in the wood. Keep doing this till all your stains go or you begin to erode the wood. If the sanding is obvious, scuff the remaining surface lightly using the sandpaper so that it makes a good match.
Method 3: If you’ve accidentally spilled something on wood, you can prevent the watermark from developing into a stain. First, buff the stained area using a soft cloth for better absorption. Buff along the grain of the wood. If after this, you still see a stain, get rid of the extra moisture by using a blow dryer before it penetrates the wood. Once you are able to get rid of the stain, buff the stain with an oil-based polish for wooden furniture. Any remaining stains will be removed with this.
Read how to remove water stains from wood over here.
Method 4: Apply a thick layer of mayonnaise to the stain and let it remain overnight. Next morning, wipe it away using a thick cotton cloth.
Method 5: Take a small amount of any white toothpaste and apply it to the stain. Buff it gently along the grain using a soft cloth. Wipe off the toothpaste and polish it.
Method 6: For cleaning raw wood, make a thick paste of baking soda and water and apply it on the stain. Keep it overnight and wipe it away with a cotton cloth next day.
If after all this you still find that the stains haven’t gone away, then you need a more advanced method. Here it is:
Method 7: Use a lint-free towel to dry the wood several times till completely dry. Place it on the stains and apply a hot iron on the stains for just a few seconds. There may be some salt remaining which you can now remove by using a wood cleaning product.
Tips:
- Being a softwood, pine absorbs stains quickly. However, hard woods like oak are likelier to be stained only at the surface level, thereby allowing you to successfully remove all stains with just a little effort.
- Once you remove all stains to the best of your ability, finish the wood with a protective finish. For stubborn stains, apply a wood stain on the whole surface so that it hides the unwanted color.
