# Sanded an oiled cutting board, now it is all sticky



## ppg677 (Jan 21, 2016)

Hi, I applied mineral oil to a cutting board. I saw sanding marks and decided I wanted to take another sanding pass. I did that with the random orbit sander after the board was dry to the touch a day or so after applying the oil.

But now this cutting board no longer has that hard/dry feeling. Sanding somewhat fresh oiled wood has made the board slightly soft/sticky and no amount of rubbing it with cotton fixes it.

Any amount of sanding leaves the sandpaper with a coated mess.

Any ideas?

If it weren't a cutting board, I'd attempt to clean with mineral spirits.


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## sawdustjunkie (Sep 12, 2013)

Try cleaning it with Denatured Alcohol several times. Once the mineral oil is applied,it will load up the sand paper.


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## jutsFL (Nov 1, 2018)

Hmmm… I had a similar problem when one of my last boards was a bit off (flat), it had a tip from corner to corner. They were already oiled as well. Sanding ended up like you found out. Ended up with a light pass on the planer to clear it up. Not sure if that's an option for you?


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## bigJohninvegas (May 25, 2014)

pure mineral oil has no drying agents in it. It will never fully dry. Maybe you can wipe it off, and then use some alcohol like Steve suggests, or a light pass through the planer.
I use a couple of coats of watco danish oil on all my boards, and hand wet sand each coat with the last piece of paper I used on my finish sander. about 5 minutes it starts to get tacky. then wipe it a dry as you can get it. 
It then takes a good week, Longer in the colder months to cure. 
There is mixed reading out there that will state that it is food safe once it fully cures. I am good with it, some are not. Tried and tru finishes claim to be food safe.


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## RichT (Oct 14, 2016)

Use the mineral spirits. Actually, since real mineral spirits are hard to find (it's all low odor, meaning the useful solvents have been removed), I'd recommend naphtha. Don't worry about it being food safe since the solvents will evaporate.


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## kelvancra (May 4, 2010)

I'm with Rich, I'd go with the mineral spirits or paint thinner. Let it vapor off, then take another stab at it.


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## eflanders (May 2, 2013)

You might also try cooking the board at 150-200' F. Cook it for 2 hours. This draws the oil deeper into the wood so that it isn't all on the surface. It also will kill any bacteria and slightly harden the wood.


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## AlaskaGuy (Jan 29, 2012)

> You might also try cooking the board at 150-200 F. Cook it for 2 hours. This draws the oil deeper into the wood so that it isn t all on the surface. It also will kill any bacteria and slightly harden the wood.
> 
> - eflanders


Will the glue take the heat?

http://www.frets.com/FretsPages/Luthier/Data/Materials/GlueTest/gluetest.html


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