Clean/prep greasy wood slats

[jdefran]

Putting the finishing touches on my Genesis 3000 but sanding and staining the wood slats. I began sanding the bottom slats to find the 'dirtiness' seems to be grease/grill gunk as my sand paper was getting caked and ruined the sandpaper.

Any suggestions on how to get this gunk off without comprising the integrity of the wood? Can I spray a healthy layer of simple green and try to scrape/scrub it off? I could pressure wash but that sounds like a pain in the @$$ since the slats are small/light. Open to suggestions..

[addicted-to-smoke]

You might hit them with some Dawn dish washing soap or anything else that's good at breaking down grease. In the end, sandpaper will always win but yeah, you might have to go through some more first. You got a machine, maybe like a Black n Decker Mouse? The machine's work can help overcome worn sandpaper, in a way.

[pbe gummi bear]

You might hit them with some Dawn dish washing soap or anything else that's good at breaking down grease. In the end, sandpaper will always win but yeah, you might have to go through some more first. You got a machine, maybe like a Black n Decker Mouse? The machine's work can help overcome worn sandpaper, in a way.

+1. Give dish soap and a brush a try. The detergent should work well for pulling up some of the grease. Also try it with hot water.

[DirectDrive]

Agree with the above comments...

Hot water
Dish detergent
3M pad
Elbow grease

Don't go full retard with the 3M pad because you will be sanding the wood as you scrub.

[Jon]

I've done a lot of wooden yard furniture with pressure washer cleanup. The pressure washer will give a good cleanup, but will raise kind of a knap on the wood. And you really need to wait a week for the wood to dry before painting.

[addicted-to-smoke]

.... And you really need to wait a week for the wood to dry before painting.

If they're wet from rinsing off, put 'em on a drying rack in the house. The A/C air will dry them out fast, like 2-3 days max.

[DonoBBQ]

Agree with the above comments...

Don't go full retard with the 3M pad because you will be sanding the wood as you scrub.
FLMAO!!

[cwmfour]

Sorry to be so late to the party @jdefran.  You may have already solved your problem.

If not, you can strip the wood with Soy Gel.  I restore old military gunstocks.  Those have been caked in years of grease and dirt.  Soy Gel strips it all off with no sanding.  Wood is ready for staining and sealing.

https://www.amazon.com/BLUE-Paint-Urethane-Stripper-Quart/dp/B0002Z11MY/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1476651782&sr=8-2&keywords=soy+gel

[Jon]

Soy? I've never heard of that use for it.

"It's a sauce!" "No, It's a paint stripper!"

[cwmfour]

It's great stuff.  Really strips the wood, but not nearly as harsh as a chemical stripper like Jasco.  Jasco will burn your fingerprints off......ask me how I know.  Great for restoring wood.

Whit

[swamprb]

I use Oxy-Clean to remove the mildew on my Cedar decking once a year, so why not soak some of the grey painted slats in a solution?? Loosened all the greasy and mildew, scrubbed with a nylon brush, let dry and some look good as new, the weathered ones were very easy to sand and stain. YMMV