# Cleaning and sanding an old grimy butcher block



## johnharris (Jan 24, 2010)

I have a very specific question concerning a butcher block table top. I had the good fortune of receiving several butcher block table tops from an old cafeteria that was getting rid of them. I am mounting a smaller one (3' x 4' x 3") on a kitchen island. The problem is this thing is so grimy/sticky/dirty I don't know how to clean it. I scraped and cleaned the majority of it off so far. But it is still too grimy to sand. The paper gets bogged down with the grime. I tried a little degreaser (despite the common sense of using it on food prep areas) and it only went so far. I also tried white vinegar and that had only a mild improvement.

Any suggestions? I was considering power washing the darn thing? Or keep plugging away with lots of sandpaper?

Thanks!


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## donwilwol (May 16, 2011)

Use a card scraper or scraper plane and there will be no need to sand. If you plan to get down past all the oil that's soaked in, you may need to plane it first (i'd use a hand plane) and test it on an extra piece if you have one. It *may* be deeper than you think.


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## redSLED (Mar 21, 2013)

Lots of boiling hot water and scrub brush, let dry, repeat a few times?


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## johnharris (Jan 24, 2010)

Don W, that's what I feel like. I tried the card scraper and the goo just keeps coming. In fact, I left the project for a while and came back to some of the grime was actually slightly oozing out from between the boards.


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## Wally331 (Nov 8, 2012)

You could try going at it with a low angle block plane or jack plane, I have used one to flatten end grain cutting boards and it worked pretty well and removed material quickly. My other suggestion would be to make a router sled/flattening jig, there are some good examples if you search.


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## johnharris (Jan 24, 2010)

I think I might be taking you guys down the wrong path. The table top is flat. It's the grime/oil that I have to remove.

I don't even know what to call it. It's not liquid oil, not runny at all. It's not a hard crust like years of dried food…that's already off. It's just a sticky grime that want off before I put a few nice coats of butcher block oil on top. It even discolors the wood a little.

Although as I'm writing this maybe taking of a thin layer of wood would get me down to nice material. Unless as Don W says, the grime goes deep???


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## Makarov (Jun 16, 2013)

I would try a heat gun. Warm it well then wipe it down then repeat. Or put it in a black plastic bag in the sun and let the sun heat it.


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## jumbojack (Mar 20, 2011)

boiling water, heat guns, plastic bags…..hmm, I would be leary. The block IS glued together. Plane that baby down, you may have to go 1/4" maybe more. You have years of muck, be thankful you did not eat at that cafeteria. Does the block smell bad, like rancid?


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## patcollins (Jul 22, 2010)

power washing isnt a bad idea, is it end grain or side grain?

Im curious to see it, could you post a picture?


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## Charlie5791 (Feb 21, 2012)

Not too much water. I've done what you're doing. Get some lemons. Depending on how bad the top is, you might need a whole bag. Get some salt. Kosher salt is bigger grains and will last longer for what you're going to do, but once it gets pretty clean, you can switch to table salt.

Cut lemons in half. Scrub the top with the lemons. The acidity helps cut the grease. This is more acid than vinegar. Let the lemons squish and the lemon peels become part of the process. 
Add a handful of Kosher salt and keep scrubbing with the lemons and salt. On a 3×4 board, if you have half a dozen lemons involved at this point you're about right. Add more salt. As the lemons break down and become pretty useless, wipe them away and keep going with the salt. When you either A.) get tired or B.) it's starting to look much better…. wipe it all off. Give it a quick rinse with hot water and DRY IT immediately.

Do NOT soak the board with water. Lots of elbow grease to recover a block that came out of an institutional setting, but I've recovered several and they can be really fine. If it's a tight-grained board, the grease and oil is not locked into it too badly.

If you want to go faster, you can spend some money to get Citrus Solvent. It's made entirely from citrus and has no petroleum distillates in it at all. It is 98% citrus oil and 2% water. VERY safe, but not cheap. I only get mine from realmilkpaint.com

Don't get Citri-Solve or Citrus Solv… you need the real thing.

The only thing you do by applying heat is to thin the oil/grease and unless you have a plan for absorbing it once you've done that, it doesn't really help you.


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## Jim Jakosh (Nov 24, 2009)

Are you sure you want to use it? Sounds like it could contain a lot of bacteria. You need to get to pure wood. Do you know someone who has a band mill that could cut about 1/4"- 1/2" off it if stood on its side


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## jumbojack (Mar 20, 2011)

+1 Charlie.


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## Dal300 (Aug 4, 2011)

Jim, WI.U. did a study and found that bacteria will not survive on or in wood cutting boards.


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## PurpLev (May 30, 2008)

scraper

or - sanding disk or wire wheel in an angle grinder (very messy though as it will throw all that grime all over the place - but much faster than any other sanding medium)


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## papajon (Jun 10, 2013)

I'm wondering how a hot iron with paper bag paper between the wood and iron would do. This is a method of soaking up wax. The paper would soak up the heated oils.


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## Charlie5791 (Feb 21, 2012)

When you apply heat, you only THIN the oils, but you also expand the wood's cells and as they expand…. they PULL the oils IN. You don't want to force the wood to lock in the oils. You're trying to get them out. 

And once you get the board clean…. YOU OIL IT! HAhahahhaa….. seems kinda fruitless, doesn't it?


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## redSLED (Mar 21, 2013)

Let's see some oily, sludgy butcher block pictures!


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## johnharris (Jan 24, 2010)

Winner! Winner! Chicken Dinner! Charlie's advice proved to work the best. The lemons and salt cut right through the grime. It took a little time, used about 8 lemons, and it turned out pretty cool. I did follow each "coating" with some card scraper work, so Don W's advice was right on as well. In the end, I think it looks awesome. I didn't want a perfectly milled, pristine butcher block. This look still has enough of the worn look, without being abused.

Here's the before:









And here's after the cleaning and scraping:









This is going on top of a black cabinet, the whole thing will get heavy-duty wheels and it will be set the same height as our counter top.

Thanks for all the help!


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## donwilwol (May 16, 2011)

Excellent.

So basically you tanned it then planed it. Cool.


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## jumbojack (Mar 20, 2011)

I assume the county shut down that cafeteria. That block WAS disgusting. Nice job on the after. As soon as I saw Charlie's response I knew it was the way to go. Congratulations, job well done.


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## Charlie5791 (Feb 21, 2012)

Nice job. I love the old boards. Lots of patina. Lots of history. People look at me like I'm from Mars when I tell them not to use water and to use lemons and salt on a really nasty looking board.

Let that baby dry a couple days ON EDGE. Don't lay it flat or it'll dry on top too fast. If you raise it up 4 to 6 inches sitting on pointy blocks or something, it can be flat. Just want it to dry evenly or it'll warp or crack.

Once it's really dry, rub it with mineral oil. First time, lay it on heavy and wait about 20 minutes before wiping off the excess. Top and bottom. Mineral oil will NOT go rancid and stink. If the board smells like rancid oil after you use the mineral oil, give it a salt scrub (no need for the lemons at this point) with just enough water to make the salt a little pasty. You can use a few drops of mineral oil in place of the water. Wipe off the salt. Wipe the board with a damp rag or sponge…. damp… not wet. Let it dry… mineral oil again.

Once you get the board oiled with mineral oil, you only need to re-oil it when it looks dry. You'll know. It will look "too white". I use a microfiber cloth for oiling my boards and just keep it in a zip-loc bag in the cabinet with a little squeeze bottle of mineral oil.


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## WayneC (Mar 8, 2007)

Have to favorite this post for all the good info.


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## chrisstef (Mar 3, 2010)

That's some valuable information being passed on right there. Great board and great advice from Charlie. Good stuff fella's, that's what this is all about!


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## johnharris (Jan 24, 2010)

Here's the final island. The black piece was already there. I just replaced the top, added the locking wheels and made it the same height as our counter tops.

Thanks again for all your help!


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## donwilwol (May 16, 2011)

Much much better!!


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## Straightlines (Mar 20, 2013)

Some take-away points from this thread and Charlie's great advice:

1) Wet-dry cycling is one of wood's worst enemies; it causes expansion, then contraction, then splitting/warping.
2) Rapid heat cycling can yield similar problems as wet-dry cycling.
3) Heat helps the wood take up more oil-good choice to not use heat in your efforts to remove the gunk.
4) Tung oil is very good for block tops and salad bowls. After drying, it becomes non-toxic. I use General Finish's Seal-a-Cell.
5) For similar challenges, like old penetrating stain finishes, I have simply flipped the piece over and properly finished the backside for use as the front side.
6) Citrus-based "block oils" are good alternatives to mineral oil. I have mixed feelings about mineral oil due to its mineral (i.e., petroleum) based origin. There is a very good chance that your block tops got all funky like that from the use of mineral oil, rather than lemon oil, because it is more resistant to food-prep area type cleaning products.


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## BillWhite (Jul 23, 2007)

Man, after seeing the "before" pics, I would have burned that ugly thing. The "after" pics make all your effort worthwhile.
Aside from all the stuff about no contamination with wood blocks, I'm still freaked about them.
I spent 32 yrs. in the food business, and I've seen stuff that makes me not want to eat ANYTHING. 
Bill


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## bannerpond1 (Mar 15, 2013)

I flattened an old butcher block by making a sled for my router and then clamping 2×6's to two opposite sides of the block. You can do the same thing to take off as much of the "gunk" as you need. I wouldn't put that thing in my kitchen until I had all the stuff GONE. It won't be worth the "free" butcher blocks if it makes someone sick, taints the taste of your food, or stinks up your kitchen. Mine stunk really bad as I was routing away the years of blood and goo in the wood. But the sled allowed me to make a slam-dunk perfect flat top. I used food grade mineral oil on it. DON'T SOAK IT WITH WATER. EVER!


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## Bertaflo1131 (Feb 3, 2016)

Love the post and the great ideas. I've inherited a butcher block table from an old machine shop and there are stains to be removed before I use it on my new island countertop. I was looking for a place that would plane it for me but now I will try these suggestions first.


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## dhazelton (Feb 11, 2012)

Have to ask - was the bottom side a better start?


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## conifur (Apr 1, 2015)

After reading this thread, I contacted an old friend who was a meat cutter/butcher, the way and best way they would clean up there wood chopping blocks was lemons or since they did it on a regular basis, they would use Real Lemon Juice and Kosher salt, at the end of the day they mist down the wood with the lemon juice, sprinkle the salt on it, then mist again, let it sit overnight, scrub it off in the morning, then mist with juice again and lightly scrape, wipe dry.


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## kelvancra (May 4, 2010)

Someone probably tried to stay organic and used olive oil [which would account for any rancid smell]. Anyway, I'd continue with the card scraper to get as much of the gunk off the top as possible. After that, I'd just wipe it down with a generous coat of paint thinner, or delemonine (there's that citrus thing, if you want to pretend to get close to natural (well, as natural as such things can be)).

After a thinner scrub, let the thinner evaporate off for day or two. Then try your scraper again. Then plan on ruining several sheets of sandpaper. If you wanted to make them go farther, consider wet or dry paper and a coat of mineral oil as the lube (I've done that on several projects). It'll keep the paper from clogging badly. You just have to wipe up the oil and replace it with new when signs it's too much of a slurry.

In the end, remember, regardless what type of oil they used, it'll mix with any finish that uses paint thinner, Naphtha, turpentine or delemonine.


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## kelvancra (May 4, 2010)

Oh, and I disagree on using hardening oils (e.g., tung oil, linseed oil or walnut oil), unless you are not going to use it for a cutting surface and are going to put a finish on it. Then I'd go for broke and flood it with a thinned poly to lock the old oils in, then put a top coat on.

The hardening oils don't tolerate water much, so, if going just the oil route, you might as well stay with the standard - mineral oil. Remember, you are going to have to maintain it regardless what you use and that is about as easy as it gets. In fact, it tends to keep on wicking into the wood, helping it resist the drying, thus, cracking and splitting talked about above.

If applying mineral oil, a lot of people put it, let it set, wipe off, then do it all again. That makes no sense whatsoever. Put it on and let it sit until you're satisfied it's soaked as much as it will, for now. Then wipe off the excess. As such, you only need to put on enough to cover the wood, then just add to the spots that soaked in.

Keep in mind, so called lemon oil is just mineral oil with lemon scent.


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## 01ntrain (Jun 21, 2015)

I re-newed one recently, myself. While it wasn't as bad as the one in the pic….the lemons and kosher salt did the trick for me, as well. Oiled it with plain mineral-oil. The GF uses it everyday. Cleans it up with a vinegar solution and it's never been a problem…..


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## johnharris (Jan 24, 2010)

dhazelton > The bottom side was just as bad. The bottom also had a bunch a screw holes in it from where it was attached to the table it sat on. I was also afraid the "clean" areas on the bottom where the table braces ran would always show even after everything was cleaned. But, the main reason I didn't want to flip it was the top was worn in certain areas and showed decades of use. I really wanted to keep that look.

It's pretty neat for me to see this thread come back to life after three years. This project probably gets the most compliments of all my work. Not because it is my best work, but because it is a main feature in our kitchen…front and center.

Thanks to all who helped!


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## tinatalker (Sep 25, 2017)

I just cleaned a small butcher block and cutting board with De-Solv-It on the advice of a friend. It's still not to the point where I can sand it, and after reading Charlie's post, I see I shouldn't have done that. I went to the label on De-Solv-It and discovered it has citrus oil, aloe and lanolin. Will the lemons and salt reverse my mistake?


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## kelvancra (May 4, 2010)

If it's "still not to the point where I can sand it," the cleaning mixture may only have contaminated part of the surface.

It seems the salt and lemon wouldn't hurt a bit, since the combo would cut much of the oil and grit. After you were happy with the appearance of clean, you could just flood the surface with mineral oil, let is sit for a few minutes, then wipe off the oil, which should have mixed with other residues, if any. After that, oil as usual (e.g., slather it on and keep adding where is soaked in, then leave a film over night, before wiping off the excess.

In the end, it's not likely you've done any long term damage.


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## tinatalker (Sep 25, 2017)

Thanks, Kelly. Even though it seemed to do a decent job of breaking up the buildup, the lingering smell was making me nauseous. I wiped it down with water and dish soap to try to eliminate it, but when I wasn't satisfied, off to the WWW I went, finding this site. I guess I was most worried about the lanolin. Off to the store tomorrow for the lemons!!


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## tinatalker (Sep 25, 2017)

Oh, and re-reading your post: " you could just flood the surface with mineral oil, let is sit for a few minutes, then wipe off the oil, which should have mixed with other residues, if any" , do you mean I could clean off oil with oil?


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## kelvancra (May 4, 2010)

Of course, my suggestions might not be right there between St Peter 1:1 and 1:2, so might not qualify as gospel.

The washing with soap and water isn't a bad idea. Just rinse very well and give ample time to dry.


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