Linseed oil on Soapstone

[Ezra Smith]

I recently became the new owner of a 205 Fireview stove from Woodstock Stove company. Here is the tread for the purchasing and renovation.

The stones are fairly scratched a beat up, and though there are no big cracks, it would be nice to pretty them up a bit. Also some PB blaster got on some, which I hope will burn off when I eventually hook it up and fire it. I have found various articles about people trying to oil their stones with mineral oil, which all seems to burn off with the first firing. So, is there a good way to oil the stones where the oil would not burn off?

Several years ago I was directed to this article which goes into a technique of seasoning cast iron pans using flax oil (linseed oil). Mineral oil does not really "dry" and has a low flash point, which explains why in constantly needs to be reapplied to countertops (both wood and soapstone) and why it burns off of stoves. Flax oil can catch fire on its own if you do not dispose of the rags properly but it does dry, even though it can take a while. In the above article pans are being heated to 500ºF to season them, which polymerizes the flax oil, and essentially forms a hard layer on the surface which is very thin. I am considering trying a similar thing on my Fireview. The inside would exceed the 500ºF mark on a regular basis, but the surface would not get much more than that.

Any thoughts?

 

[begreen]

Sounds like a good question for Woodstock support.

 

[Rob_Red]

That would for sure ruin the stove

The black/brown color you see on flat top griddles and cast iron pans is not the color of the metal but rather the baked on oil. It is a not an attractive or durable finish and would be nearly impossible to get uniform. Not to mention it will smell like burning oil, and if you hit the smoke point it will smoke up your room.

I would much rather try to scrub the stone with something abrasive to revive a uniform color. I would be willing to bet you could sand it with a progressively finer grit paper until its polished because soap stone is super soft.

I would hit the PB stains with a little solvent, like alcohol/ mineral spirits or lacquer thinner.

 

[SteveKG]

I have used linseed oil for decades around my property, mostly for weather-proofing wood. To get it to "soak" some into the wood, I thin it with paint thinner. I have found that, if you get too much linseed oil on an object, it can lead to a semi-permanent stickiness that is obnoxious when handing. On a soapstone stove [and I have a Woodstock], I would never put anything on the stone. Especially an substance like linseed oil. By the way, straight linseed oil has quite an odor to it.

I do have a few scratches on my 8-yr-old stove, and I have learned to live with them. The first few bugged me, when the stove was new, but I don't even notice them now. No idea whether the suggestion to maybe "sand" or etc. the stone would be a good idea. But I would chat with Woodstock before I did anything. Those guys now about it all. The stone can be replaced, but that requires disassembling the stove. Major project.