Expert: Greg Scholl - 6/8/2009

Question
QUESTION: Hello, I need some advice for my teak wood kitchen table.  This table is 20 years old and has been oiled with linseed oil and turpentine in the past.  My father was visiting this past week and thought he would help me out by redoing my kitchen table.  I asked him what he did and he steel wooled it first and cleaned it up and then he used linseed oil along with mineral spirits 50 - 50 combined.  My chairs are very sticky including my table is half dry in spots.  What should I do?  I am afraid it is ruined and I have had this table for a long time and it's in great condition.

Thanks,
Heidi

ANSWER: Hi Heidi, it will likely dry, but could take several days to a week. I'm assuming he has use boiled linseed oil, and not Raw. If he used raw, it may never dry fully.....in this day and age, there are many better choices like Watco Danish oil, or a Teak oil, or even WaterLox. These formulations have added resins and dryers to produce a harder finish and dry predictably....hope that helps a little- post back if need be- Greg

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Hi Greg,


It has been 4 days now and major parts areas of the table surface are still very sticky and not appearing to dry.  Also, the chairs are sticky and not drying.  Is there a way to strip the table to refinish, or can it be sanded again with steel wool.  I am concerned about sanding because of how sticky it still is.
Thanks for all your help,
Heidi

Answer
You can take some mineral spirits and rags and wipe down the chairs and table to remove the excess oil...I would not use any steel wool as it's too sticky, but you could use a ScotchBrite pad...(synthetic steel wool), but a rag saturated in mineral spirits will remove most of it, dry with a clean rags as you go and work in overlapping sections.....then let them dry another day or so. A fan will help that process. Again, if he used Raw linseed oil, it was a wrong choice and can take forever to dry....the worst case scenario is that you will have to use stripper to strip off everything and start over...the good news is that I can help.......REMEMBER to dispose of any rags used in an oil finish PROPERLY, they can spontaneously combust...Greg