: The staples cut the grain of the wood, which effectively creates
: end grain at each hole. End grain absorbs more epoxy and becomes
: darker. As a test, coat the end of a strip and you'll see what I
: mean. Additionally, the staples crush the wood, which destroys
: the cell structure and creates open air pockets which fill with
: epoxy, again darkening the hole. There is nothing you can do
: about this other than not using staples.

I concur. Thanks for verifying my conclusion.