cutting board smell

[Bobbabe]

Hi- I discovered the wood whisperer recently while trying to learn how to finish/seal a sanded cutting board. I followed the video which ended with the recommendation to use a 50/50 mix of Tung oil and Natures Orange. It has such a powerful odor I have to leave it out of house. I tried to be careful not to use much and let it all dry. Is there a way remove the odor? Would sanding more help get below the level that the mixture penetrated? Any and all suggestions are welcomed. Thank you- J Knaster

[gee-dub]

Uh . . . isn't Natures Orange a degreaser?  I always just use food grade mineral oil.  Available at WalMart for under $2 a bottle.  I have boards that have been in regular use for a decade.  They just get a refresh 2 or 3 times a year when the board appears dry.  Most of your cutting board problems come from poor care.  Let me look . . . . ah, here is the little instruction sheet I include with all my cutting boards.

Cutting Board Care and Feeding.pdf

[Ron Swanson Jr.]

On 9/20/2025 at 6:07 PM, gee-dub said:

Uh . . . isn't Natures Orange a degreaser?  Cutting Board Care and Feeding.pdf 251.97 kB · 1 downloa

That's what i was going to say. I can't imagine any scenario where blending that with an oil is used as a finish. 

[Coop]

@Bobbabe, could you post a link to the video? 

[wtnhighlander]

I have a vague recollection of Marc suggesting orange oil as a "thinner" for some finish, perhaps that is what should have been used?

I like mineral oil with beeswax melted in to form a soft paste. Smells like honey, mmmmmmm...

[Coop]

@wtnhighlander, what proportions? 

[wtnhighlander]

@Coop, it has been a while since I made a batch,but I believe it was 50/50 by weight. The result had the consistency of wax shoe polish. Howard's Butcher Block Conditioner is essentially the same, but with much more oil than wax.

[Bobbabe]

The proportion used in his video was 50/50. The odor is so strong there is no way I could use the cutting boards as they are.  MY frst thought is going back and sanding the board to get below the level of the finish, if thats even possible. Any suggestions are welcomed. Here's the link for the video-  

 

[Ron Swanson Jr.]

Practically, you're going to have a hard time sanding that out. A pic of of your cutting board would be helpful in offering advice. 

I would expect the smell to dissipate, though it might take a week or 2. I understand your dilemma. My wife is hyper sensitive to chemical smells so i have to be careful about what gets brought into the house. 

[Bobbabe]

Well its been ay least 3 weeks and the smell is still there. We like the boards but holding on to them may not be in our future. I wonder why this method would be posted, unless odor was nt a consideration. I did purchase the exact products used in the video. 

[Ron Swanson Jr.]

On 9/21/2025 at 7:51 AM, Bobbabe said:

Well its been ay least 3 weeks and the smell is still there. We like the boards but holding on to them may not be in our future. I wonder why this method would be posted, unless odor was nt a consideration. I did purchase the exact products used in the video. 

Wow. 3 weeks! 

I'm sorry to hear that as i an sure it's very disappointing. 

I don't know Marc at all, but you may want to contact him via a direct message in this forum and let him know. 

He may have some thoughts, or at least might edit the video to warn people. 

[gee-dub]

That is so disappointing.  Not trying to rub it in (no pun intended) but just add data to the thread.  We use this several times a week and sometime several times a day and have for the last 6 years.

We all tend to recommend those things that work for us.  Mineral oil with no additional additives has worked well for me.  Works on cooking utensils as well.

As far as how to leach that finish out of the board . . . that is a tough one since it is a penetrating finish.  My first instinct would be to wet it with a neutral oil and scrub it with a brush but this is shooting from the hip.  I would take a scrap of the material you used for the board, finish it the same way you did your problem board and start to experiment. 

[Vinegar:baking soda:liquid dish washing detergent] could be a good test.  You will want to scrub the surface though and rinse and repeat often.  The idea is to draw that stuff up out of the wood and brush/rinse it away.  Obviously getting cutting boards overly wet is the thing you do not want to do BUT this is an attempted recovery.  If you can get the board to a workable state you will probably have to re-prepare the surfaces and then try your next finish.  You already know what I would use 

[Mark J]

I wonder which of the two finish components is contributing most to the bad smell.

To remove the offending finish, my thought would be to sand it off.  (Especially if I had a thickness sander).  

[Bobbabe]

Reply this is one of the cutting boards I prepared with the mixture. For your information I did not make the board. It was purchased many years ago and I just wanted to revive it and make it safe for use. 

[Von]

I'm also surprised and sorry to hear the odor is lingering after three weeks. That is a very long time in my experience. Odors tend to pass in days not weeks if the piece has room to breathe and some air movement, so I'm perplexed. One thought is to do whatever you can to improve ventilation around the board. I would stick it by an open window or outside if I could.

If you can spare the thickness, sanding it off with a belt sander or thickness sander would work (you could do it by hand or with a rotary, but it would take a while).

I know this advice comes a bit late, but I always try to experiment with new finishes on scrap. Finishing is one of the most difficult parts of woodworking in my experience because so many things can go unpredictably wrong.

Welcome to the forum, sorry it's not under better circumstances.

[Bobbabe]

Von, thanks. I kept it on our terrace for long periods but still no relief. I'm not a woodworker like the rest of this group, (thank you all for your support). Not willing to spend a lot of money on sanders that I will most likely not make good use of down the road like you all do so if I cant gain access to the right tools, I might have to put this board to bed. Maybe try washing  like a previous poster mentioned, but that might be iot. Thank you all for your replies and suggestions. 

[Mark J]

Well, you are welcome.  Washing is certainly something to try.  After it dries you can sand with some ordinary sandpaper wrapped around a block of scrap wood.  If no scrap wood is at hand, you can buy a sandpaper block/holder at any hardware store. 

If you go this route, I suggest 80/p80 grit to start.  (I expect the paper will gum up with finish debris).  If that seems to be successful, I would follow with 120/p120 grit to smooth it.  You can go smoother, but for a cutting board that's probably good.  

It would be some manual labor, but not arduous.   This is probably a job for your terrace (preferably with a light breeze).

Of course, this assumes the cutting boards are important to you.

[Bobbabe]

I decided to try sanding to bare wood. I seem to have made my way below the oil level with a couple of passes with the sander so started again, this time just with the Tung oil and after just one coat, the odor is much less and more like wood than that chemical smell. Thank you all for your input. Ill repeat the application process one or two more times  then leave to cure . Thanks again 

[dwilliam]

The odor from Tung oil and Natures Orange can linger for a while, especially if applied heavily. Ventilation is key, letting the board air out for several days helps. Sanding lightly can remove some surface oil, but it won’t reach deeply penetrated areas. You could try a gentle wipe with a cloth dampened with mineral oil or a mild vinegar solution to help neutralize odors, then let it cure fully in a well-ventilated space.