# Removing mineral oil finish



## reverse01134 (Jan 11, 2018)

I know this topic was discussed before but haven't found a clear answer. So I finished my tabletop with mineral oil and it's not giving enough sealing for daily use. I want to strip the oil finish and apply Arm R Seal. I started with sanding with 120 grit but the oil never go away and the sandpaper gets clogged with wet dust so quickly. I did some research and now am using mineral spirits. A couple questions here.

- do I leave mineral spirits on the wood until it dries or should I wipe it off at some point? How long do I need to leave it to be soaked?
- should I use a different material? Some suggested laquer thinner but I wasn't sure if it works for mineral oil.
- any other suggestions for removing mineral oil finish? I know it's a non drying oil and I would never be able to completely remove the oil. And I also know Urethane type finishes would never get along with a surface that has oil in it. Should I go for a different material? Waterox website says their product works on existing oil finish (they recommend using mineral spirits followed by sanding but they say it works) Some suggested a light coat of dewaxed shellac before Urethane coat but I don't want things get messy...

Looking forward to some advice here.


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## difalkner (Nov 27, 2011)

Welcome to the forum! When you get a minute go ahead and put your first name and location in your profile so we know who we're talking to and where you're doing your work. This helps us to help you with what's available in your area, humidity and environment questions, etc.

We make cutting boards and trivets and then soak them in mineral oil and it's a bear to go back and work 'cause the mineral oil never dries, like you mentioned. There has been a couple of times when I really had to remove it to make a simple repair and I used lacquer thinner to at least get it off the surface enough to take some glue. You're probably going to have to wash it down with lacquer thinner or Naphtha. Naphtha would be the less obnoxious fume-wise and both flash off rather quickly. Lacquer thinner will destroy anything else it gets on, like other furniture, but Naphtha will probably just wipe right off unless it gets on varnish. Either way I'd protect anything around it unless you're doing it in your shop. 

If I was a guessing man I'd put your chances of achieving a really nice finish somewhere in the less than 50% range. But let others chime in and see what they say.

David


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## epicfail48 (Mar 27, 2014)

How do you remove it?

Use a new piece of wood.

Seriously, youre never going to get rid of all the mineral oil. It soaks into the fibers of the wood and penetrates completely, getting rid of it means getting rid of all the wood. You may not be screwed though, being oil-based Arm-r-seal should be able to be applied over the mineral oil, provided there arent any puddles of oil sitting on the surface


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## J_L (Apr 22, 2014)

I agree with what's already been stated above. However, for your best chances of removal, you don't let the mineral spirits dry and change out your wiping rag often. Otherwise you'll just smear the oil around. Each wiping pass should be on a clean portion of the rag. Do this a few times and you've remove as much as you're easily going to. Let it dry after that and see what happens. 

You could also call Arm R Seal and ask them their recommendations for application over mineral oil.


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## 35015 (Nov 24, 2012)

Sorry for your challenge...



> ...do I leave mineral spirits on the wood until it dries or should I wipe it off at some point? How long do I need to leave it to be soaked?


As you have stated...your dealing with a petroleum based "nondrying oil." This means a "wash out," "drawing" or "stock removal" methods are all that are going to work...

Thinning out and drawing off the mineral oil with a carrier of some form (line mineral spirits) is going to entail wetting the surface and drying it repeatedly...No effective method I know of calls for leaving the MS on to dry itself...



> ...should I use a different material? Some suggested lacquer thinner but I wasn't sure if it works for mineral oil.


Grain Alcohol and Citrus oil I believe to be more effective "wash out" modality. Apply the alcohol first. Place a paper towel on the wood weighted down until it presents with a lessening of dampening from the MO. Sand to remove fibbers still present with MO.



> ...any other suggestions for removing mineral oil finish?


Poultice methods with clay and other agents are probably more effective in concert with the method above I mention to start. These are listed on line...so you would have to experiment. Most are proprietary blends employed by different restoration artisan, and the formula is drawn out to rewrite hear at this time. They are highly effective in such surface contamination with nondrying oils, and many stains as well.



> I know it's a non drying oil and I would never be able to completely remove the oil. And I also know Urethane type finishes would never get along with a surface that has oil in it. Should I go for a different material?


I only work in traditional methods and finishes so can't recommend modern finishes...at all...in most application. Nor find them superior in anyway (myself) to the traditional means of finishing which are numerous. I prefer for most of my work a blend of food grade tung, flax, citrus oils, with added blending of pine rosin and beeswax for most of my work. Easy to apply, works in concert with the wood, easy to maintain, and provine over millenia of working examples. Refinishing is (typically) a matter of reapplication should it become necessary...Unlike plastic (aka urea and poly) finishes and petroleum oils which are a nightmare to rework, if possible at all...

Hope something works out for you...

j


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## Steve Neul (Sep 2, 2011)

If it was warm weather paint stripper would strip it off. You might have to soak it for a half hour or so to let it penetrate better. 

Mineral oil isn't suited for what you are doing. It's used to coat cutting boards where it is washed and re-treated with the oil. It's not intended to be a finish. 

Waterlox says it will work with other oil finishes but that doesn't include mineral oil or motor oil, it's products that contain linseed oil or tung oil. The mineral oil will need to be pretty well stripped off before you can use any film finish. If you only get the mineral oil partially off you better stick with an oil finish such as a Danish oil finish. It won't give you a waterproof finish but at least it won't peal off.


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## reverse01134 (Jan 11, 2018)

Thanks for all of your input.

I am using denatured alcohol and it seams to work better than mineral spirits. Like everyone here said it would be impossible to remove the oil left in the wood completely but I will try to remove as much as possible and apply a light coat of Zinsser shellac in a spray can as a primer coat before applying Arm R Seal. Hope it works.


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## 35015 (Nov 24, 2012)

reverse01134 said:


> Thanks for all of your input.
> 
> I am using denatured alcohol and it seams to work better than mineral spirits. Like everyone here said it would be impossible to remove the oil left in the wood completely but I will try to remove as much as possible and apply a light coat of Zinsser shellac in a spray can as a primer coat before applying Arm R Seal. Hope it works.


I could be missing something...or wasn't clear myself perhaps, yet as Steve (et al) have stated, since there is a mineral oil finish in and on this wood...even with stripping...you are not going to be able to use a "film coat" system of finishing at all. 

So, to be clear, that means Zinsser Shellac and Arm R Seal (being film finishes) are going to, most likely, have issues in not (over time) reacting poorly with the mineral oil finish no matter how much you clean it...In other words, oil finish only over this...yet, as has been stated that doesn't mean even an drying oil is going to work perfectly over a none drying oil...and there still could be challenges down the road.


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