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My fresh palm logs are molding? |
tikimecula
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Apr 27, 2004
Posts: 404
From: Manhattan, KS
|  Posted: 2004-09-21 12:37 pm Permalink
Anyone ever have this happen? what to do about it? I have them standing up in the garage. Should i seal them?
Thanks
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Aaron's Akua
Grand Member (8 years) 
Joined: Jul 09, 2004
Posts: 1594
From: Rancho Santa Margarita, CA
| Posted: 2004-09-21 1:15 pm Permalink
Welcome to TC Tikimecula! Nice to have a new carver nearby. Polynesiac told me that its best to get some polyurethane and spray it on the ends to seal them before they start to mold. You can leave the bark on the logs until you are ready to work on them, then strip the bark later.
I also heard somewhere on TC that you can put a diluted bleach solution on the wood to remove tiki rot. I don't remember how many parts water to bleach, but you may want to do a search on this.
Good luck, post pics as you go, and ask lots of questions. Many TC carvers will be glad to help out as you go.
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Polynesiac
Grand Member (first year) 
Joined: Jan 29, 2004
Posts: 2027
From: San Pedro, CA
| Posted: 2004-09-21 2:25 pm Permalink
lay them down
raise them off the concrete floor
sealing ends prevents cracks and slows drying time - doesn't really help for mold
and spray some mold remover on them when the mold appears (just like wood furniture you may have outside)
and read the big long carving post too - loads of good info in there
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[ This Message was edited by: Polynesiac on 2004-09-21 14:26 ]
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tikimecula
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Apr 27, 2004
Posts: 404
From: Manhattan, KS
| Posted: 2004-09-21 2:53 pm Permalink
Thanks for the info. I have read the carving post, tons of good info. have not had time to pick up the chisels lately. got a nice score of palm logs the other day, so i guess it's time again. will post some pics when i begin.
http://www.tikiroom.com/tikicentral/bb/viewtopic.php?topic=8924&forum=7&vpost=90316
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Aaron's Akua
Grand Member (8 years)
Joined: Jul 09, 2004
Posts: 1594
From: Rancho Santa Margarita, CA
| Posted: 2004-09-21 9:32 pm Permalink
Checked out your link. Those are totally cool! No. 2 just gives me a Rasta feelin' for some reason, though no dreads. No. 4 was a total leap, though. That one looks pretty nice. Deep cuts, nice curves. And I thought you were a rookie with just 20 posts! I guess you're just spending a lot more tme with the chisel than the computer. I'm looking forward to seein' what's next from you. Keep us all posted.
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"Ah, good taste! What a dreadful thing! Taste is the enemy of creativeness."
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4WDtiki
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Aug 03, 2004
Posts: 1729
From: Omao, Kauai
| Posted: 2004-09-22 07:22 am Permalink
Direct sun should keep the mold at bay.
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Polynesiac
Grand Member (first year)
Joined: Jan 29, 2004
Posts: 2027
From: San Pedro, CA
| Posted: 2004-09-24 08:40 am Permalink
Quote:
| Direct sun should keep the mold at bay.
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theoretically, yes. Humidity plays a major role too. If I stand my un carved palm on their ends (on any type of surface outside my house- concrete, wood )without sealing them - mold grows like crazy. (takes longer with them standing on wood, quicker on concrete).
laying the uncarved palm logs with untreated ends down on their side, mold grows a little ( a little white fuzz), but not bad and seems to stop at a point. (this is for palm logs both in direct sunlight - in an area with good air circulation - and in my garage). The mold is very easy to remove - I use an angle grinder when I carve anyway, so I grind away the thin layer of mold (I do this anyway to round the ends).
If you seal the bottom of your standing tiki palm with several (more than 4) coats of polyeurathane - or whatever you use - it takes a while for mold to grow, and it depends on how dry the log is and where it is and if it's standing or on its side. Mold shouldn't grow if it's on its side, and most likely won't grow if the palm is standing either (with good air circulation and sunlight).
Unsealed carved outside tikis (or tikis in damp areas with bad air cirvulation) will get mold all over, once again depending on how wet the log still is. Mold remover works fine in this instance, but your best bet is to seal the tiki. If it's outside, and depending on the type of sealant you use, and it gets moldy, use a mold remover that is safe for stained wood products. Don't stress about mold, not only is it a really cool organism, but it's very easy to deal with.
Hope this helped and didn't just bore you to death.
Can you tell I'm not at Hukilau? 
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[ This Message was edited by: Polynesiac on 2004-09-24 08:42 ]
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twowheelin'tiki
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Nov 28, 2002
Posts: 712
From: santa monica
| Posted: 2004-09-30 01:42 am Permalink
Spray them with lysol!, works for me!.
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BobFJ40
Tiki Centralite
Joined: Dec 20, 2004
Posts: 24
From: Hesperia Ca.
| Posted: 2005-01-13 12:05 am Permalink
Ok I know the mold is no big deal but I am growing or roting something inside of the palm log. It has started at the end and is growing inward. It is red and then it turns black. I am cutting as much of it out as I can but I dont want to do much more because I am going to run out of log. Have any of you had this hapen. It also smells like it is roting. Thank you. Bob
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tikifreak
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Jan 15, 2003
Posts: 253
From: Jacksonville Beach FL
| Posted: 2005-01-13 05:07 am Permalink
Yep, this is ONE of the reasons why I quit carving palm logs......Wait till you get one done, think it's all dry, then ship it to someone. Next thing you know they are calling you about this mold all over it. Not good. Palm will mold until the log is pretty much COMPLETELY dry. I have tried everything to try to stop this problem. Bleach is only a temporary fix. My advice is to let the logs dry totally before you carve them or if you are in a hurry move on to another type of wood.
Tiki G.
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tikifreak
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Jan 15, 2003
Posts: 253
From: Jacksonville Beach FL
| Posted: 2005-01-13 05:09 am Permalink
Oh yeah, if you smell something stank, it's rot. Get another log. That is one funk odor that will stick to your skin.....
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Benzart
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Jan 09, 2004
Posts: 10306
From: Port Saint Lucie, Florida
| Posted: 2005-01-13 2:49 pm Permalink
There are some varieties of palm that are Uncarvable. They rot and turn to Mush and never will cure enough to carve. Royal palm and Queen palm ate 2 that come to mind. they have fairly Hard bark which I guess is what gives them the strength to stand up. The bark from the Royal palm Can be cured and used like lumber. It really has a nice grain to it. It sounds like you got hold of some uncarvable palm. That is Not how good palms work. yes they are stringy and full of splinters, but have been carved for centuries. Cabbage, Coconut,and Washingtonian are all good species to carve.
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BobFJ40
Tiki Centralite
Joined: Dec 20, 2004
Posts: 24
From: Hesperia Ca.
| Posted: 2005-01-13 8:21 pm Permalink
Thanks. It is a mexican fan log and the top part that I started was roting so I trashed that and then started with the botom one. the inside was great where I was carving out the mouth but the top and botom had something that was turning the wood red and had somewhat of a stink(not as bad as the first one I was carving) I carved out as much as I could last night and it whent in about 2"s. I will bleach it and see what hapens. It is a big log and I have put some time into it allready and did not want to trash this one also.
[ This Message was edited by: BobFJ40 on 2005-01-13 20:22 ]
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Aaron's Akua
Grand Member (8 years)
Joined: Jul 09, 2004
Posts: 1594
From: Rancho Santa Margarita, CA
| Posted: 2005-01-13 9:06 pm Permalink
Hi, Bob. I took my mexican fan palm carving to work & set it in my cube so I could take it to the park for a lunchtime carving session. All of my coworkers immediately started complaining about the stench & I had to take it back out to the car. Yeah, palm stinks, it's stringy, & looks terrible while you're carving it. It sprouts white mold overnight (usually when you want to show off your carving to friends). But it does carve EASY. And it sands up nice with 60 grit after it's dried a bit. And the stench WILL disappear once you've got it all stained & varnished up nice. I'm gonna try some hardwood after I finish this palm tiki that I'm working on, but I will definitely keep a few pieces of fan palm in my garage for later. Good luck with your piece. Please share pix when ready!
BTW, I've noticed lots of different colors in mex. fan palm. Red streaks, light spots, & some really dark spots. They tend to lighten a bit when it dries, and stain makes them all blend.
A-A
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"Ah, good taste! What a dreadful thing! Taste is the enemy of creativeness."
-Pablo Picasso
[ This Message was edited by: Aaron's Akua on 2005-01-13 22:19 ]
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Benzart
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Jan 09, 2004
Posts: 10306
From: Port Saint Lucie, Florida
| Posted: 2005-01-14 07:29 am Permalink
All palms don't Stink!. Cabbage or Sabal palm actually have a Sweet smell. I'm not sure I would mess with this mexican fan. Maybe they like refried beans or Hot tamales???
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