How to degrease an old wood workbench top?

[Redboy]

My new (to me) workbench spent the first sixty years of its life in a machine shop, and the butcher block wood top is, uh... well seasoned with grease and oil.

Now, I don't mind a bit of "patina" but I'd like to clean some of the crud off this thing. I used engine degreaser on a similar top once, but I'd hate to ruin this one - should I start with something milder?

Here's the workbench...

 

[The Cobbler]

I would take the metal sides off and sand it .
or try scraping with a sharp scraper ( paint type sharpened )

 

[MikeYC]

My new (to me) workbench spent the first sixty years of its life in a machine shop, and the butcher block wood top is, uh... well seasoned with grease and oil.

Now, I don't mind a bit of "patina" but I'd like to clean some of the crud off this thing. I used engine degreaser on a similar top once, but I'd hate to ruin this one - should I start with something milder?

Here's the workbench...

TSP and a good stiff plastic bristle brush...

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[sammynomas]

Simple Green, or the Dollar Tree stuff called Awesome.

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[gungatim]

good luck. I had one like that as well, maple butcher block held together with long threaded rod and square nuts. not as badly stained but oily and dirty.

I tried cleaning with solvents, scraping, sanding, then finally started running the boards one at a time after disassembling through my planer. destroyed the knives from embedded metal. that oil soaks in deep and it didn't look good even after planning down 1/8".

I gave up and burned it and just made a new top from MDF (2 layers) and pine 2x4 edging and put a nice poly finish on it.

I spent more replacing the knives than I did on the new top...

 

[Redboy]

TSP and a good stiff plastic bristle brush...

Simple Green, or the Dollar Tree stuff called Awesome.

I would take the metal sides off and sand it .
or try scraping with a sharp scraper ( paint type sharpened )

Wow, thanks for the quick replies! TSP or Simple Green seems like a good starting point.

good luck. I had one like that as well, maple butcher block held together with long threaded rod and square nuts. not as badly stained but oily and dirty.

I tried cleaning with solvents, scraping, sanding, then finally started running the boards one at a time after disassembling through my planer. destroyed the knives from embedded metal. that oil soaks in deep and it didn't look good even after planning down 1/8".

I gave up and burned it and just made a new top from MDF (2 layers) and pine 2x4 edging and put a nice poly finish on it.

I spent more replacing the knives than I did on the new top...

Well, I don't hold out any hope of making this thing look "like new", or trying to use it as a hipster kitchen island...

I'd just don't want greasy elbows every time I lean on the thing. A bit of scrubbing oughta get it to where I want it!

 

[exmaxima1]

I would take the metal sides off and sand it .
or try scraping with a sharp scraper ( paint type sharpened )

I agree. Once it's cleaned/degreased with something like Simple Green, and allowed to thoroughly dry, a belt sander with coarse grit would clean it up very nicely.

 

[holdover]

I have had good luck using speedy dri, the stuff you put on a floor for a spilled oil. It seems to absorb pretty good and with the sides you have a good barrier to keep it in place put about 1" on the table and let sit a few days. And you can reuse it after you are finished. I'm not talking about the stuff made from earth, but the original old time stuff. Soaks oil like a sponge.. worth a try and the less messy of all listed. good luck, worked great on my old ship hatch cover

 

[check251]

How's the bottom? Can you flip the top?

 

[PWC Repair]

Steam vac carpet shampooer with heat. pre soak the table with Awesome cleaner then the hot water from the cleaner to open the wood pores and **** the oil out.

 

[Redboy]

I have had good luck using speedy dri, the stuff you put on a floor for a spilled oil. It seems to absorb pretty good and with the sides you have a good barrier to keep it in place put about 1" on the table and let sit a few days. And you can reuse it after you are finished. I'm not talking about the stuff made from earth, but the original old time stuff. Soaks oil like a sponge.. worth a try and the less messy of all listed. good luck, worked great on my old ship hatch cover

I'll look into that stuff, thanks.

How's the bottom? Can you flip the top?

The bottom isn't as greasy as the top, but it has more holes in it - the legs and drawer are bolted/screwed directly into the wood top from underneath.

 

[Redboy]

Steam vac carpet shampooer with heat. pre soak the table with Awesome cleaner then the hot water from the cleaner to open the wood pores and **** the oil out.

So many good ideas here! I like this one, but my wife wouldn't go for it... Our carpet shampooer is brand new and she'd probably divorce me if she caught me using it on this thing!

 

[isb cornbinder]

How's the bottom? Can you flip the top?

darn you Chuck. I wanted to say that flip thing.

 

[Stuart in MN]

I'd start with a scraper to remove what you can from the surface, before going to any liquid cleaners. Most anything with a steel flat edge should work, an old chisel is one thought.

 

[PWC Repair]

So many good ideas here! I like this one, but my wife wouldn't go for it... Our carpet shampooer is brand new and she'd probably divorce me if she caught me using it on this thing!

Well ok then, make your hot water in the coffee pot then pour and **** it up with your shop vac.

 

[rsanter]

I would be reluctant to sand it as you can drive the grease deeper into the pores or decontaminate from the sanding belt.
I would use some of the mentioned degreasers and go to a scraper. A hard sharp steel edge will work similar to sandpaper (that's how they did it before sandpaper) but is easy to clean off for the next pass.

If all you want is to not get dirty when touching it, then how about you clean it as you can, put a lexan sheet over it and leave the patina?
You can also have a stainless sheet cut to put on top of it

Bob

 

[Bigbandguy]

So many good ideas here! I like this one, but my wife wouldn't go for it... Our carpet shampooer is brand new and she'd probably divorce me if she caught me using it on this thing!

You could possibly rent a carpet machine from the local store that rents that sort of thing. You are then assured of a heavy duty machine that would be none the worse for wear (and not yours) for your efforts.

 

[JimNC]

I agree with an oil absorber and then a degreaser, but I'd use a #8 plane to take off the top layer, it'll be much faster and more even than using a scraper unless you have had a lot of experience with a scraper.

It'll likely never be sufficiently oil-free for fine woodworking, if you want that then do the above and then scrub it with lacquer thinner and spray a few coats of lacquer on it.

 

[Rewind97]

Soak it down with whatever cleaner you choose then take it to a car wash and use their pressure washer.

 

[jonesg]

I would take the metal sides off and sand it .
or try scraping with a sharp scraper ( paint type sharpened )

Yep, I was a butcher apprentice 50 yrs ago, I cleaned the table with a large knife held vertical and drag it toward you, done vigorously it take 5 minutes tops, just remove the oil soaked wood down to dry fresh surface.

When its done, don't treat it or seal it. Its a work surface, not furniture.

 

[jonesg]

I have had good luck using speedy dri, the stuff you put on a floor for a spilled oil. It seems to absorb pretty good and with the sides you have a good barrier to keep it in place put about 1" on the table and let sit a few days. And you can reuse it after you are finished. I'm not talking about the stuff made from earth, but the original old time stuff. Soaks oil like a sponge.. worth a try and the less messy of all listed. good luck, worked great on my old ship hatch cover

Better than that is K2R , its the same chemical dry cleaners use.
Spread it on, let dry and hit it with a heat gun to boil the oil out of the wood into the white chalky K2R, then scrape it all off.
Nothing gets oil out of wood compared to heat, very high heat, not hair dryer.

 

[HotrodHR]

Try "Pour and Restore" Product pours on as liquid (similar to consistency of watery pancake batter). Leave on stain without disturbing and as it drys it pulls the oil stain into the product. Once dry just sweep up with a hand broom into dust pan. If stains remain you can reapply...

 

[EOC_Jason]

Do you have a pressure washer? Might want to give that a whirl along with some of the degreaser methods mentioned.

Maybe also spread some kitty litter on it and let it sit for a few days?

 

[Cranksterwatch]

Set it outside in direct sunlight. Cover the top with a single layer of a black trash bag. The heat will pull the oil to the top. Use Pig Mat or compatible oil absorbent mat to soak up the oil. May take a couple of days but well worth the effort.


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[Rick B.]

Maybe scrubbing it with a stainless steel bristle brush then washing it down with acetone or lacquer thinner might draw out some of the oils and dry up the wood a bit.

 

[Zeke]

Maybe scrubbing it with a stainless steel bristle brush then washing it down with acetone or lacquer thinner might draw out some of the oils and dry up the wood a bit.

Finally! Yes, LT or acetone will do wonders. I'd tip it on its side and start at the top washing the oil off and into a tray. You can reuse and reuse until the solvent is black. Start over with some fresh.

I do this on concrete all the time but I do rinse with high pressure water. Oils just float away. These days best to catch the oils downstream. Sand does that job.

 

[bullnerd]

That's a cool old bench, good luck.

 

[MarkG]

Learn to sharpen and use a cabinet scraper. The 'card type'. Takes longer to explain than I'm willing to type, but you can Google it. A close second choice would be hand-planing it, or even using a power plane and finishing up with an orbital sander.

 

[DblDog]

I had a similar top...scraped it with a 6" wide putty knife. Pulled it in the direction of the grain. Re-sharpened it often with a file, holding it vertical to the file surface. Produced a very smooth surface and removed most of the gunk. Then liberal coat of lacquer thinner and continued scraping...about a half an hour in all. Not pretty but smooth, it is just work surface, as someone mentioned.

You haven't mentioned the industrial green metal frame...lots of patina there...wipe clean, keep green!

 

[koditten]

Plain old starting fluid. Spray it down real good and before it evaporates, place cotton towels on the surface. Capillary action will pull out much of the oil. works great on concrete too.

 

[scooby074]

Try Floor Stripper. Zep makes some. It works on wooden tool handles.

If that doesnt work, try solvents.

 

[Shootinok]

I once cleaned an old cosmoline (grease) soaked rifle stock with easy-off oven cleaner.
Not mild by any stretch, but this thing was really soaked nasty and sticky.
It turned it almost white after a couple applications and pulled all the grease out.

Two coats of tru-oil later, it looks like a museum piece of Walnut furniture.

 

[Nick Danger]

Naptha and diatomaceous earth. I found this on the antique wooden boat forums. I had bought a used massage table for cheap because the previous owner had spilled an entire bottle of scented oil into the wood and it stank. A couple of applications of this technique pulled the oil right out.

Mix naptha and diatomaceous earth into a runny paste. Spread the mixture onto the oily wood. Wait 30 to 60 minutes for it to dry. The naptha mixes with the oil and pulls it out of the wood as it evaporates. The oil is trapped by the diatomaceous earth. Sweep the dry powder away and you'll find dry wood. In my case, I had to do spot cleaning of the worst sections.

 

[bubinga]

didn't read the whole thread, But have you thought of turning it upside down?

 

[EOC_Jason]

didn't read the whole thread, But have you thought of turning it upside down?

He said the other side had holes and such and was in bad shape, that's not an option.

 

[naf305]

I'd give it a nice wash using simple green. Don't use a power washer you are simply going to soak water deep into the wood fibers and warp the whole thing (even if it is eng-grain).

Then start by hand scraping the surface with some elbow grease. Use of of these from woodcraft.

Depending on the condition after that you can run a couple passes of orbit sander going from 120 grit down to 180 and 220.

Finally I'd put a coat of Boiled Linseed Oil which is available at your hardware store and does a great job at protecting work surfaces and bring a nice warm and natural color to the wood. I use it on all my hand tools.

In the end it will look like it lived through 50 years of heavy use but that's part of the beauty of vintage tools.

Good luck!

 

[James-W]

Not sure if this is the best way to go about it, but I would think a steam cleaner would get rid of a lot of the oil and grease.

 

[Redboy]

I had a few free minutes over the weekend, so I tried a little of what I have on hand...

This is promising! I think a combination of degreaser and a card scraper will get the job done.

In the pic, you can see the original color on the (cleaned) left leg.

 

[Stuart in MN]

Boy, that thing was greasy wasn't it.

 

[jimreed2160]

Wow! The SG is doing a good job. Looks like the grease was protecting the paint from abrasive dust. Once you clean it and wash off the SG residue, you should slather a good coat of Johnsons paste wax on the painted finish. As for the wood, it depends on how you will use it. I like BLO and turpentine (25-75).