Thread: oily old table top

Put some talcum powder on in a thick layer, cover with kitchen roll then apply a warm iron.
This should get some of it out.

Astrid

If that fails, you could try putting the top on upside down? Or painting it?

Donna

If it's used motor oil the dirt in the oil will have stained the timber.

How deep has it soaked in? You may get away with removing a layer of timber.

It's dripping out the bottom but It's clean oil. painting with oil base paint may be the go. I really like the grain but.

I wonder how linseed oil would go?

Well if it has soaked right through then Astrid's ideas seem to be the go.
We have an old wardrobe that I turned into a cabint for glasswrae & bla., bla., bla.
My wife insisted that I buy it for her as a wedding gift before we were married.
I stripped the rotten black "varnish" off it to reveal beautifully coloured Pine. I'm positive it is Kauri. Parts of the outside were oil stained. So as everything was well and truly dry I could not remove any of the staining.
Me being me, I like to preserve as much of the history of a piece as possible so I sanded it back and finished it with Danish Oil. That tended to blend the weaker staining back to a small degree.
Upshot is we have a lovely cabinet with some well preserved history that is a good discussion piece.

I Know its a lil different, but with petrol (Methanol and Caster oil) model planes the go to remove caster oil from the Balsa is to apply liberal amounts of Acetone to the area you want to repair. It thins the oil and takes some of it with it when it evaporates. Might be worth a try...