I take showers every day! Really!

April 20, 2008 12:43 AM

How does one get body grease off a wooden table?

Instead of a desk I have a rough old wooden table. It looks very cool. I'm behind my laptop quite a lot, and after two years you can very clearly see where I usually rest my arms on this table. Not so cool.

How do I clean off the grease? I've thought about sanding and I might do that, but I'm afraid I might ruin the old ruggedness of the table.

Please bear in mind that I live in the Netherlands and that American product names might mean nothing to me, or that the products could well be unavailable here - if you have a great tip, I would appreciate it if you could use a more generic description, if at all possible. Thanks!

posted by Skyanth to home & garden (11 comments total)

Murphy's Oil Soap is the best thing for cleaning any kind of problem from any kind of wood. I don't know if it's available in the Netherlands, but something similar surely is.
posted by amyms at 12:51 AM on April 20, 2008

P.S. Don't sand it, if your only goal is to remove some "body grease" stains. All it needs is a good, safe cleaning.
posted by amyms at 12:57 AM on April 20, 2008

not much you can do. you've been working oil into the (i assume) unfinished wood every day for two years now. you can sand it down or oil the whole thing to an even finish.
posted by swbarrett at 1:50 AM on April 20, 2008

Bi-Carb is neat for all that kind of stuff. Also very good dish liquid is good for that too. (That extra dollar makes all the difference!!) I like this (the lime one). :)
posted by mu~ha~ha~ha~har at 1:55 AM on April 20, 2008

I like swbarrett's idea of oiling the whole thing. In addition to evening out the finish, a generous application of mineral oil will help preserve the wood.

See generally, applying oil to butcher blocks.
posted by GPF at 5:48 AM on April 20, 2008

Not answering the question, but why not so cool? The beauty of old wooden furniture is often in where and how it's worn. If you've ever seen those antiques shows on TV, they always talk about the lovely patina on old things. Turn the table around, put some matching marks on the other side ;)
posted by jacquilynne at 7:07 AM on April 20, 2008

Cover the whole table with a nice dark stain, as others above have mentioned. After that, rest your arms on a folded towel or pillowcase (that's what I do). It's more comfortable anyway.
posted by Koko at 11:47 AM on April 20, 2008

Wood oil soap.
posted by number9dream at 12:14 PM on April 20, 2008

Dishwashing liquid (for handwashing dishes) may work better than wood oil soap -- after all, it's made to cut through grease. Wet surface, rub some soap on, let sit for five minutes, rinse with a lot of water. Don't use ammonia, even dilute...it's too harsh.

After you remove the marks, maintain with wood oil soap (like Murphy's.)

I'm assuming that this table does not have a french polish, or you wouldn't have this problem. Therefore, after you clean the marks off, consider oiling the table to preserve the wood -- but what kind of oil you use may depend on what kind of wood (how soft) it is. Do some research, ask a furniture expert, and again, spot-test in case you don't like the resulting color.
posted by desuetude at 4:07 PM on April 20, 2008

Oh, and I don't recommend staining to try to cover the marks. It won't work -- the oil from your skin will show on a dark stain, too. Also, it's rather cutting off your nose to spite your face.
posted by desuetude at 4:07 PM on April 20, 2008

I've used mechanics waterless hand cleaner several times to clean up antique finishes. It's great for removing the old hand oils and dirt from the arms of chairs. Patina is one thing, dirt and gunk is something else. It's important to test an inconspicuous location with any cleaning product when you're dealing with old finishes. Test the hidden area and then let the piece sit for a day or two to watch for delayed reactions. I use terry cloth rags to apply the hand cleaner and to immediately clean and remove the cleanser and the gunk. Afterward I reclean with Murphy's oil soap and then buff the piece. I've used this process to salvage antique pieces that other people thought needed refinishing.
posted by X4ster at 8:00 PM on April 20, 2008