Residual Padauk staining/bleeding through after finishing

[Alan Lightstone]

I'm just finishing up applying a mineral oil/beeswax finish to a Padauk/Purpleheart/Ambrosia Maple cutting board. The board was sanded up to 220 grit, then had one coat of mineral oil, followed at this point by a second coat of a mineral oil/beeswax mixture.

From the beginning, as I've noted from padauk before, when you wipe the padauk, reddish color comes off from it. This has continued with the cutting board, even after the mineral oil/beeswax coat.

Now as this will be used as a cutting board, I can see this being a real issue. Any clues how to make this go away. I know this is a common decorative wood used on cutting boards, so this must have come up before. Will this go away once the mineral oil is absorbed and the wax dries?

Here's a picture of a piece of paper towel that wiped the surface with the mineral oil/beeswax mixture:
Padauk staining.jpg

[Jim Becker]

Did you thoroughly clean off any very fine sanding dust (including from the pores) before starting to finish? I find it takes multiple efforts with naptha until the rags come up clean if that's a necessity. Since you're using a non-film finish that needs to be renewed, you can continue to pick up any residual dust hanging out in those pores.

[Alan Lightstone]

I did not, Jim. I also noted one website suggesting washing the boards with soap and water before finishing, which struck me as a pretty bad idea.

I could let the wax dry, buff it out, and then run under water at this point, I guess. Not sure that would do anything.

I'm assuming that a naptha wipe now would remove the wax. Acetone a reasonable alternative? I would think both would remove the wax, then multiple wipes to remove residual sanding dust, then reapply the mineral spirits / wax mixture? Don't ever recall anyone having to go through that, though you don't see that many padauk cutting boards.