"isw" wrote in message
...


Sanded to 220 with the ROS. The previous owner had also used mineral oil
on it, and the oily dust was clogging up the sandpaper like anything.
Using a finer grit would have been useless.

Agreed, IMHO going past 180 or even 150 on something that you will be
cutting on is probably pointless.


It was perfectly smooth before I put that oil on it. I know from
experience with drying oils, that if they're rubbed in with, say, 600
grit paper, the fuzz gets cut off, the imperfections get filled by the
sanding "mud", and the surface becomes very smooth. That's what I wanted
on this table.

Strange, last week I posted pictures of a couple of cutting boards, end
grain up, that I made and put mineral oil on. I went to 180 grit only and
the surface does not shine nor do I want it to, as I intend for these to be
used.


So the question is, can I now put a food-grade drying oil finish (like
walnut oil) on the block, or am I stuck with it the way it is? There is
absolutely no possibility of getting the mineral oil off; it's soaked
in.

Yes you can add another oil but do you want to use the board or just look
at
it?

Both. That's why I asked if a drying oil would work, if applied over the
mineral oil. There's nothing about a drying oil that would prevent using
the table. For one thing, the sides of the block, which never see any
use, would look a lot better.

Well I often use a different oil or varnish for the side of a butcher block
but the surface is not going to have that factory finish after cutting on it
and washing it, regardless of what you use.