I'm refinishing my tiller

[Joe11688]

Has anyone had any luck in trying to remove the dark spots in bare wood? I'm refinishing my tiller. The tiller is made of Ash, I think, and it's laminated. I want use a clear gloss Poly urethane Spar Varnish on it. I've tried Teak Cleaner, and Zud Cleanser with Oxalic Acid in it, and nothing seems to work. I don't want to sand it out, as I don't know how deep these black spots go into the wood. I imagine that these spots are mildew, but I was wondering if anyone has ever run into this problem, and what they used to bleach it out.Thanks, Joe.

 

[Joe11688]

Tiller

Hey Radar! I knew you'd come through for me! That rudder looks great, too! After I wrote that entry, I went on the Practical Sailor site and clicked on "Tools and Techniques." They give three choices, so I clicked on to, "Click here to View Features" and found something on how to remove black stains from bare wood. They recommend Oxalic Acid cristals, or regular bleaching water. So I'm trying the bleaching water. I bought some Min-Wax Poly Urethane Spar Varnish at Wal-Mart. This Practical Sailor site has a lot of good information on it and it's free. I've entered the link on this thread, and if anyone wants any information on how to do almost anything on a boat, it's on this site under "Tools And Techniques". Great workshop, Chuck! You could almost eat off that work bench. Thanks for the quick reply.Ahoy!Joe