A couple days ago I rough-turned a sycamore blank that had wonderful red streaks in it and then put it in an alcohol bath to speed drying. When I took the rough bowl out of the alcohol and re-turned it, the color was gone. Has anyone else had this experience, or did I hallucinate the vivid reds in the original blank? (Note: it was denatured alcohol, and I didn't even sniff it. Much.)
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alcohol bleaching?
- Thread starter Michael Kuehl
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- May 16, 2005
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Doubt the alcohol had anything to do with it. Bleaching is normally an oxidation process, so my bet would be on the atmosphere, not hydroxl radicals.
Either that, or the red was some organic dye more soluble in the less polar alcohol, in which case you should discover it again below the surface of the wood. A day in a soak isn't going to get much penetration even when you've thrown all that water away centrifugally to make room for air. Won't make it dry any faster or safer, either.
Either that, or the red was some organic dye more soluble in the less polar alcohol, in which case you should discover it again below the surface of the wood. A day in a soak isn't going to get much penetration even when you've thrown all that water away centrifugally to make room for air. Won't make it dry any faster or safer, either.