Oil deposits on King Billy Pine tops

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kiwigeo
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Oil deposits on King Billy Pine tops

Post by kiwigeo » Sun May 11, 2025 2:16 pm

I'm currently busy cataloguing my tonewood stash and came across some King Billy Pine top sets with oil deposits on the surface. Are these tops usable? Any advice would be much appreciated
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Martin

TKAY
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Re: Oil deposits on King Billy Pine tops

Post by TKAY » Sun May 11, 2025 4:04 pm

Martin, Hi, I had a veneered 50 year old un finished table top, walnut veneer on very low density chipboard from the 1970's which had oil and a candle, leave hot wax and marks in/on the surface.
I used petrol ,uncoloured, used for drycleaning Merlex or similar on paper towel many many times which completely removed the oils and wax. The surface has had a clear finish for three years with no evidence of marking showing through although the colour of the walnut was slightly bleached.
Hope this gives something to try or think about
All the best Tom.

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kiwigeo
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Re: Oil deposits on King Billy Pine tops

Post by kiwigeo » Sun May 11, 2025 4:17 pm

Thanks for the info Tom,

I actually had a session with some acetone and while it gets the worst of the oil off there's still visible staining. Ill experiment with a few other solvents tomorrow.
Martin

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Mark McLean
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Re: Oil deposits on King Billy Pine tops

Post by Mark McLean » Mon May 12, 2025 5:11 am

Could be a good reason to do an oil finish on this build.

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kiwigeo
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Re: Oil deposits on King Billy Pine tops

Post by kiwigeo » Mon May 12, 2025 7:32 am

Mark McLean wrote:
Mon May 12, 2025 5:11 am
Could be a good reason to do an oil finish on this build.
LOL..it's already got an oil finish! :D

The acetone wash got rid of the oil but there are still dark marks where the oil deposits were.
Martin

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peter.coombe
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Re: Oil deposits on King Billy Pine tops

Post by peter.coombe » Mon May 12, 2025 10:50 am

That is normal for King Billy Pine. Resin comes to the surface if the tops are stored up against each other and it gets worse the longer they are stored. Solution is to leave a gap on both sides when you store them. That will stop most of the resin. It is usually just a surface thing so whack it through the sander and gone. Is annoying, but it is just something that King Billy Pine does.
Peter Coombe - mandolin, mandola and guitar maker
http://www.petercoombe.com

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Re: Oil deposits on King Billy Pine tops

Post by kiwigeo » Mon May 12, 2025 11:10 am

Thanks alot Peter...I plan to run a few of the sets through the sander to see how they come out.
Martin

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