You will have to let the top dry well and then sand the top again. Before you refinish wipe down the top with some thinner so you will see if you still have any issues. The top with the thinner on it should look perfectly clear. Let dry. If if the staining persist you might try some acentone on a rag as this should remove any oils. Wipe it down several times. They do this with teak on boats for example as teak is an oily finish. Wood bleach applied to the surface, then cleaned well and re-sanded, is another option for cleaning the surface. Make sure you wear a mask when sanding wood that has been bleached. I would then visit a good paint store for the various finish options. I have found that in some cases the stains persist. I would be curious to see what was said on the woodworking forum.

I've had edge grain hard maple in my basement kitchen (now an apartment) for 20 years & my new kitchen for 6; basically, it's the only counter space so both have gotten a lot of use & I cut on it & set hot pots on it. I use mineral oil but after the 'new' wore off, I became lazy & oiled maybe twice a year without any bad side effects. The 2 big no-nos are letting water stand & using a serrated knife. Stains like beet juice or crushed raspberries can be a problem if not cleaned up immediately but maybe it's because I don't oil enough. For dough, I use a large cutting board (actually it is the sink cutout) on a table because it's lower & more comfortable for kneading but there's no problem with sticking. Usually I use flour or sometimes, EVOO but if I oiled more, I could probably do without anything. Personally, I'm not a fan of end grain blocks because they're too absorbant no matter how much they've been oiled & tend to pick up odors that linger for days. Shallots are the worst, LOL! I've never had a dark block so I don't really know how they would look after a while with heavy use but I would question how vibrant the wood will look if it isn't oiled regularly. I have a sneaky suspician it will be dull & faded like unfinished wood if the main use areas are not oiled every day or so. I could be wrong but it's something you probably should research before sinking a fortune in a piece of furniture quality wood. Another question you might ask if you're considering some of the dark woods that aren't naturally dark , i.e. oak. Has it been stained & if so, with what? Oak is very hard to stain using penetrating stains (I've refinished a lot of furniture) & the finish tends to set on top so I'd question if I wanted to cut food on it. Even if it's been treated somehow to age it, I suspect it will show knife marks. Whatever you decide, enjoy it. BB are very forgiving & can hold their own regardless of the abuse - just no wet feet!

I use Osmo Polyx Oil and Osmo Top Oil on my cherrywood placemats. They are both excellent for a non-cutting surface, Very hard and durable. For my cherrywood and black walnut cheese boards I use cold pressed hemp seed oil and my own mixture of hempseed oil and natural beeswax. I purchase my hemp seed oil from Hempola in Barrie, Ontario, Canada. Hemp seed oil is organic and totally food safe. I don't think either Osmo product was designed for a cutting surface. Hemp seed oil is much better to work with and healthier and more organic and food safe than any Osmo product.You can see some of my work at my website- www.liveedgedwoodcraft.ca

Hi, I am another who has had a butcher block island for more than 20 years. It has been a love-hate relationship. I loved the look but hated the upkeep, particularly when my kids where small and there were more important things to do. The Bad: around the sink, we often got black stains, tin cans would leave black circles and berries and wine would stain it. Bleach cured the stains but the black marks needed to be scraped and sanded. I did this several times over the years. Also, though I used a cutting board, other people assumed butcher block meant cutting board so there were lots of small nicks and knife marks. I did oil it with mineral oil but probably not enough. I have been looking forward to an easy care granite counter which will be coming next Spring when I finally renovate. The good: several months ago, I was fed up with the way it looked and knew we were a long way from granite, so my husband got out the belt sander and went to it. The sawdust was unbelievable and went everywhere but when it was done, the now almost new looking counter had a nice uniform colour. I used a food safe finish that I suspect is something like waterlox and it looks amazing. Water beads on it and foods wipe up easily with no staining. And no more black marks. The wood is very nice to work on - warm and soft. So now I am wondering if I wouldn't like some in the new kitchen after all!. Good luck on your choices.