Oily Wood

Thanks for the suggestions guys and sorry for the late acknowledgment.

I have been soaking up the sun in Bali.

Thanks Par, your system appears to be the least dangerous so I'll go for that. I remember Tide washing powder but I haven't heard of it for ages. I will search the supermarket shelves tomorrow.

I think my best bet is to go for the least caustic and more dramatic if necessary.

I see your point Westfield, I always take my kids out on my boat 25 miles out on dark stormy nights lol. How the buggers keep swimming back again has got me stumped.

Poida

 

On the east coast of America, they fish the canyons 100 plus miles out often spending the night out there. It may not be storming when one leaves, but the weather has been known to change. And yes, lots of people take their kids on family fishing trips. So not so far fetched a scenario...... Here in CA it is 26 miles out to Catalina and lots of folks fish the backsides of this and the other Channel Islands as well as the channel itself. Same with offshore trips to the Mexican Coast, lots of small boats going a surprisingly long way out for tuna. You may not do it in Australia, but it happens here often enough to not be unusual.

 

The radio controlled model airplane crowd has been dealing with oil soaked balsa wood for many years. Various lubricating oils in the fuels are easily absorbed into the balsa wood construction and need cleaning periodically.

Paul's right about the kitty litter and I'd certainly start there with a boat. Depending on how anal retentive you are you might want to go a step further. I've seen and used a 50/50 mix of acetone and alcohol (100%) mixed up with talcum powder, as a desiccating agent, into a slurry about the consistency of mayonnaise. Apply the mixture, ventilate the area a bit and wait for it to dry. You can brush loosen the dried talc with a chip brush and vacuum the area. Heat the oil soaked wood with a heat gun and you'll see more oil rise out of the pores. Repeat the process until you don't get any more oil. This could take many cycles depending on the extent of the oil soaking.

Regards, MIA

 

Par

We don't have Tide Laundry Detergent here. I have looked at the Tide Website and they have many products. Would I be correct in assuming that you use a laundry powder and if so, is it mixed with water or put onto the wood in its powder form (if it is a powder).

Whatever you use I'll have to experiment with what we have here. I'm sure I have seen it in the past tho' and it may have been imported before we started making our own.

Thanks missing......I'll try Pars approach first as has been said before, what effect the acetone is going to have on the existing adhesives is something worth thinking about.

Poida

 

I use the powder version of Tide, as the liquid is really just a diluted powder. I'm sure other laundry powders will work. I mix a very rich slurry and scrub this is good with a stiff brush. Surface oils will begin to break up right away and if this is bad, I'll such it off fairly quickly after application, just to scrub in some more. My thinking is I can get a large percentage with the quick first application.