oily old table top

[wood lice]

I got an old pine table the other day it had what looks like moter oil spilled on it and its soked through the pine. I tried putting turps on it to try to wash the oil out but its still very oily. whats the best way to finnish it? or should i just put a new top on it?

[astrid]

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

[flynnsart]

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

Donna

[rsser]

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.

[wood lice]

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.

[wood lice]

I wonder how linseed oil would go?

[artme]

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.

[Mick C.]

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...