Post #116379 by Polynesiac on Fri, Sep 24, 2004 8:40 AM

Direct sun should keep the mold at bay.

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? :)

"Hey, at least I'm housebroken."

[ Edited by: Polynesiac on 2004-09-24 08:42 ]