Swamp ash residue after sanding - need advice

[Colonel_Claypoo]

hey everyone,

today i have tried to sand my swamp ash down to prepare it for an oilfinish. before that it had a stain finish.

the problem i have now is that there is a lot of color residue in the open pores of the wood and i just can't seem to sand them away.
i'd like the body to look like clean, natural swamp ash.

does anybody know how i might get rid of the residue?

thanks a lot

[gneiss_bass]

What color is it? meaning.. is it offensive? perhaps leaving the grain filled.. .. perhaps this residue lends itself to the new finish? I not sure you can succesfully "unfill" an open grain finish.. Though I've never tried. Have you tried any solvents on the grain filler.. like lacquer thinner?

[doctorus]

I've heard of people using xylene, a chemical solvent (my double bass teacher used it to clean rosin off the strings).

[Colonel_Claypoo]

thanks for the replies so far guys.

the finish is going to be just tung oil and i don't know to which extend the residue (color moss-green) will be enhanced by the finish.
i think i'm going to sand, sand, sand some more...

[mpm32]

Use stiff nylon or brass brush and scrub with the grain. The brush should help to pull that stuff out of the pores. I've had to do this when refinishing antique oak furniture. It works well.