I have inherited an old butcher block from a grocery store that opened in the 30's. My father salvaged it during a remodeling project around 1965. It has a sort of film on the surface that makes it feel tacky. I can clean it with a steel wool pad, but it only takes care of it temporarily and it returns in a few days. Any suggestions?
I just found this thread because I just spent the afternoon sanding two old blocks with a belt sander. The stickiness is probably old fat from years of meat cutting. My blocks smelled like old prosciutto while I was sanding. I have them baking in the sun right now and you can see the oil rising to the surface
Years ago I watched a butcher clean a butcher block. He used regular table salt sprinkled on kind of heavy and a rough brush (wire or scrub), and went over them every night at closing time. Good luck.
it sounds like someone put some kind of finish on it that shouldn't be used on wood. some oils do that too. some folks mistakenly think cooking oil is good for cutting boards. i'd sand it down to clean wood.
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