Letter 16383

Oil stain removal from wood furniture

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Q. I have an old dresser that I have stripped the varnish off of and found motor oil had been spilled on it. How do I get the oil stain out as it has penetrated deeply into the wood. Also on the bottom side of the dresser is water stains, how do I remove these?

Thank You,

Jim H
- Diamondville, Wyoming


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How to get an oil stain out of bare wood so that we can refinish the table.

Ruth Crawley
- Jefferson, Iowa


March 5, 2009

I have retrieved a pretty little English Oak table from an old farm shed.
Unfortunately it was used as a work bench. After removing the layers of old paint I discovered a large, very deep oil or grease stain. I suspect the stain is too old and too deep to remove, I would appreciate any suggestions regarding removal or concealing it.

Estelle Baldock
- Mackay , Qld, Australia


June 23, 2007

Removing OIL stains from wood. I have read many posts about how to remove water stains from wood but I have yet to see any advice on how to remove oil/grease stains. I accidently dumped a tray of BBQ ribs on my outdoor unfinished deck and the oil immediately penetrated the wood. I have tried numerous commercial cleaners, pressure washers and sanders with little difference. Pressure treated wood is not cheap so any help you can provide would be appreciated.

John Toth
- Windsor, Ontario, Canada


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Hi,

We had a similar problem with a motor oil stain on an old table my wife wanted to refinish. Unfortunately the oil stain was on a part where the original finish was almost totally gone and it soaked into the bare wood.

We found an answer on the "Oxi-Clean" web site and it worked for us. Make a strong solution of Oxi-Clean (2 scoops to 16 oz of water) and apply just enough of the solution to the stain to cover it thoroughly. Use a stiff bristle brush to scrub the stained area and wipe clean with a damp cloth. You have to be careful not to soak the wood with too much water especially if it is a wood veneer, as the veneer could buckle.

If the solution changes the color of the wood surface, lightly wash the entire surface so the bleaching effect of the oxy-clean is evened out.

Robert Laakkonen
- Ripon, Wisconsin


February 2, 2008

HELP. I sat a vase of OIL scented wooden flowers on my cherry wood dresser. When removing, after months of sitting there, I found that the oil had leaked to the furniture. Now there is a ring that goes down to the wood! It is almost like the oil moved the varnish aside to show the bare wood. If anyone can understand what I am trying to say here....Please HELP me!

Yolanda Simmons
- Lithia, Florida


April 2, 2008

I purchased some scented oil jar from a store and when I opened it I put stupidly put the rubber cork on my wooden nightstand. now a few days later the oil seems to have melted through the varnish exposing an ugly ring of bare wood, at least thats how it appears. is there any solution to this without sanding and re-varnishing the whole thing?? please help me

Nitai Joseph
hobbyist - Philo, CA, USA


May 22, 2008

Hi
We now all know how to get water stains out of wood. Hooray! But PLEASE can someone tell us how to get an oil stain out. I am renovating an old jsrrah work bench. At some time oil (probably automative) has been spilt and has penetrated the wood. I have sanded the wood and have tried hot water and dishwashing liquid with no success. Any ideas? Thanks

Magda Austin
hobbyist - Perth, Australia


May 30, 2008

I read all that stuff about water and miracles. Each time an oily table came up my heart lifted; my table is oil stained and I can live with it. My wife would be very pleased if I removed it. It would count for a whole days housework. Any tips. Lazy JIM

Jim Jammes
- Bendigo, Victoria


June 3, 2008

I to would love hear a solution for oil on timber, we have just purchased our first home and my husband was removing our air conditioner from where we are currently renting when some oil spilt on the timber verander, I have covered the oil in talcum powder, it seems to have helped but I am curious if someone else has used this method and it has worked and how much talcum powder and do you rub it in....si many questions....HELP!!!!!

Thanks

Julie Spletter
- Aramara, Queensland, Australia


June 4, 2008

I'm so thankful I found this site. The iron and T-shirt worked like a dream. Beautiful Hutch that I decided to sell but knew that white water mark that had been there for years would devalue it. No more water mark!!

Carol Tresenriter
- Sterling, IL, United States


July 8, 2008

HELP! I had some of those wooden sticks that you put in scented oil and I wasn't aware the oil was under the vase on my wooden table. I now have a very noticeable spot on my table that looks like the varnish has been removed. Does anybody know how to restore this "bare" spot without refinishing the entire table?

Shelly Johnson
- Kingsford, Michigan


October 7, 2008

oh, that just happened to me too. we had people over and I had two of those scented oil things on the table, and somebody spilled them and did NOT say anything. my husband just found out now, because the place mat was stuck to the table. Now I don't know what to do. the table is new and cost me a lot of money. I feel like crying. there is oil stains, AND pieces of the cloth place mat stuck onto the table. =(

Samanatha Hlast name deleted
- Miami, Florida


February 6, 2009

responses for removing Oil stains: I had a table left in a cellar that got ruined it was originally treated with oil and I needed to get the oil out and clean it up. I used a simple solution of warm water/white vinegar about half a cup to 2 ltrs water and a scouring brush used for washing up and alot of elbow power. used clean towels to wipe the excess that came out the wood as not to spread it. worked for me.

Andrew Ding
- Neuilly sur seine, France


March 27, 2009

A guest knocked over one of those oil room diffusers onto my wood end table. She removed the items, wiped the spill, and placed the glass candle holder back on top. Two weeks later, I go to remove the items to dust, and the glass candleholder is now stubbornly stuck to the table top. How can I get it off as easily as possible?

Amy Harper
Homeowner - Florissant, Missouri


April 10, 2009

I had a jar of scented oil with diffusers in it sitting on top of a wooden end table and it spilled....leaving a huge oil stain. Any suggestions as to what I can do to remove the stain?

Shirley Nash
- Newmarket, Ontario, Canada  
opt  


May 25, 2009

I pray someone has an answer to what seems to be a common horror story: those glass jars with the scented oil and reed difusers spilling on our good (and not cheap!) finished wood furniture. I discovered today that last night the wind had blown a curtain over our one-year old cherry wood furniture. The bottle was nearly full when it spilled and covered half of the furniture; there was so much oil it also ran down one side of the furniture. I am sick over this. The finish is coming off down to the bare wood and where it hasn't come off (yet?) it's all sticky. HELP PLEASE!!

Susan Bringhurst
- Pennsburg, Pennsylvania


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