Discolorations on knotty pine wood

[Karen G]

We have knotty pine tongue and groove wood on the walls and ceiling in my husband's office/den at home. It was put on the walls probably about 15-16 years ago when we remodeled the house. He has had several pictures and other items hanging on the walls in there and upon taking them down, we found that the areas where something was hanging on the wall are much lighter than the rest of the wall. The outlines of those items are clearly evident. Also, there was a large credenza/book case behind his desk, and when we moved it the outline of that also shows.

We're going to sell the house in about a year and we're wondering if we should take everything off the walls and see if the color will somehow even out. It doesn't seem like there was any kind of sealer or stain put on the wood when it was new, or if there was it is very light.

Would there be some kind of oil or stain that we could use to even out the color?

 

[Marvin]

Exposed wood, when left natural like yours, tends to turn darker over time. If you expose it now, it will probably will never "catch up" with the other darker areas. I am no expert, but I think that sanding and refinishing the entire surfaces is the only cure for your situation, unless you want to just paint the room. I hope someone else comes up with an easier solution for you!

 

[caribbeansun]

Marvin is right on. Cherry is very bad for that - it's the sun that changes the colour and it's unlikely that leaving them exposed will even out the colour.

Since you mentioned that the boards aren't finished it may be possible to sand down below the surface level and see if it is all right - depends how deeply it penetrated. Do a small piece in a spot that is less noticeable - ie. floor level next to where you moved the credenza and see if that works. If that doesn't work you'll have to stain or paint the entire room - the stain will have to be dark in order for the differences to be less noticeable - again test in a less noticeable location.

 

[JudyH]

You could try straight bleach on the boards, if it is not finished. 35 years ago, our room had been varnished knotty pine, it had turned dark and uglier. There were places where pictures left light spots on the wall. I stripped all the varnish off, then bleached the wood. It helped somewhat. Not great, I guess, cause I restained the wood dark walnut. I kept that a while, then had the room painted antique white.

Maybe an internet search would give a better receipe for removing stains. The bleach did not hurt the wood, however.