I figured it out myself. Lucky in the Portland Maine area there are several marine repair specialists and supply stores. After calling several of these places I finally someone who had a clue about boat repair. He recommended using Oxalic Acid. He stated that Oxalic Acid is the active ingredient used in several wood and fiberglass cleaning products. Oxalic Acid is normally used to bleach hardwood like teak and is normally sold as a powder, which requires mixing with water. West Marine had a bottle for less then $6. The specialist recommended laying a small sponge soaked with the acid over the strain spot. He stated that it may take some time for the acid soak in the wood and bleach the area, and that I should check the spot every 15 to 20 minutes. Of course, he also suggested that I test the bleaching action on a similar piece of scrap wood first.

After lightly sanding the area I tried his suggestion. Approximately two hours later the strain was gone. Now all I need to do is rinse the area well with water and immediately dry it with a blow drier. After this is completed I will re-epoxy and varnish the area.

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Dan

: I'm sure this has been ask before, but I was unable to find any refers to
: this problem in bulletin board archive, so here's my challenge. I have a
: small water stain on my desk. It appears this was caused by friction from
: a seam on my car rack strap scuffed away the varnish and epoxy.
: Unfortunately, I didn't notice the problem until the stain appeared.
: Before I attempt to re-epoxy and varnish the area I would like to remove
: the stain if possible. I'm concerned about using a mechanical method,
: other words I'm concerned about sanding the area too much. Does anyone
: have a trick for removing dark water marks in wood? Thanks

: Dan