tengofive, thank you! Is there a difference between tung oil and waterlox? I don't mind just wiping over another coat every once in a while, I just don't really want a really smelly week of sealing...

...anyone hear of Tried and true sealing??? Any opinions on it? Link below.

Here is a link that might be useful: tried and true wood finishes.

I should probably mention that I am 100% terrified of meat contamination. If one of these treatments is better concerning keeping meat germs cleaned I would be very interested!

I am at the end of wit :) I went to two hardware stores today which was completely and entirely unhelpful, and I've been all over the internet and can't find any information that makes sense/isnt' contradicted anywhere. Is there any product that you can just wipe on a countertop every so often that is not smelly and that will seal them to protect them from water and stains etc?

tungoil is not a product that is used to treat "food" type of surface. if you are thinking of cutting on the butcher block, i don't think you want to use tongue oil. We have all of our house molding and trim finished with furniture grade tongue oil finish and it does NOT stand up to water that well. (it leaves water rings from wet glasses etc.) Not only that, the oil evaporates and you need to put more oil on it over time. (sand/wipe on oil/wet sand/repeat multiple times...)

penetrating oil type of finish generally leaves glass rings when water sits on it. You can add more coats on it directly without sanding. Varnish type of finish does not leave water rings. But if you want to add more coats, often you need to sand to prep the surface.

i have old Ikea butcher blocks that were left over from something else we did. We cut them up and used them as cutting blocks without any treatment. They are very very well warn with lots of real patina of knife marks... There are black water marks, burns marks etc.

meat contamination issues:
wood is not an approved product for restaurant usage. true butcher blocks are used hard and they get warn as would any cutting board would. "butcher blocks" for the appearance is not a surface that people use to actually prep meat on. I am a little confused by your comment regarding meat contamination.

Plain old mineral oil remains the treatment of choice for functional butcher blocks.

If you plan on cutting directly on the surface you do not want a film forming finish. It will be cut and show damage, and the film will then flake off.

If you use cutting boards all the time, any decent water resistant finish will work.

Where oil varnish was common polyurethane is now used.

Pick your sheen level, and choose water based for less coloring or oil based for the amber tint it carries.

Floor finishes are actually pretty good on wood counters.

Yes - I was recommended by someone at Ikeafans.com to use Salad Bowl Finish, which I ordered from the Rockler Woodworking website. It's food-safe after 72 hours. I just wiped it on with a piece of kitchen paper.

Initially, you need to sand, apply a coat and let it dry. Sand with very fine paper or wire wool, and repeat. I think I did 4 coats in total. Then I re-did a coat about 2 months after everything was installed. I use that counter for my baking, and other stuff. Water beads nicely on it, and I have no trouble wiping up flour and so on. I probably should give it another coat sometime soon (18 months now since the last one).

It's easy and works really, really well.

Here is a link that might be useful: Salad Bowl Finish - Rockler Woodworking

Does the salad bowl finish have a strong smell?

I probably should also mention that I do not cut on countertops but they will have their share of spills and stains etc anyway :)

The internet seems full of advice for mineral oil. I don't mind the upkeep, I like that it keeps the wood...woody. If water gathers on it though or something sits on it will it stain? Or will water bead up on it around the sink???

I have used both mineral oil & tung oil. I personally won't use mineral oil again, it just doesn't hold up against water.

I don't know why someone would warn you off tung oil, it is food safe, it is extracted from the nut of the China wood tree. But it does have some odor when applying although I don't find it offensive.
I haven't found any problems with water marks on my countertops, I'm not that careful on a day to day basis, but I did make sure that I did a very good job of applying 6 coats of oil & I used plumber's putty & caulking around the sink.
As for the meat contamination thing on wood counters, if you use a 3% bleach solution on your cloth you would be fine.

Tung Oil is completely food safe, "tung oil finish" is not. Tung oil was used in China for protecting boats, so you can get a completely water-resistant finish, but it takes several initial coats and then maybe a yearly coat after that. Someone posted a link to a study recently that said wood has naturally antibacterial properties and is actually more bacteria safe than plastic or glass. I would have to search for a while to find it though.

Waterlox is a finish that's made with Tung Oil, but isn't tung oil, its a finish/varnish which will have a chemical odor when applying. I wouldn't use a floor product though, as they aren't food safe and if you cut things could flake off into your food.
I'm planning on putting the product I've linked below on top of my tung oil finished butcher block as an extra layer of protection.

Here is a link that might be useful: Wood Wax

I recently posted a very similar question and between that thread and this one I think there is some very useful input.

sara_the_brit: Thank you for your further endorsement of the Salad Bowl Finish. I am strongly leaning towards that one. However, I cannot do anything until winter clears up around here and I can open windows.

Best of luck.

Here is a link that might be useful: Waterlox or what for butcher block?

Sorry, took me a while to get back to this thread: no, the salad bowl finish smell is not strong. I did the initial coating in the basement, but haven't been bothered when I did the later coat in situ.

Just to clarify: the finish is NOT shiny, like Waterlox, but exactly what you'd expect from a wooden salad bowl. This is what I wanted.

I roll out pastry and dough on my butcher block all the time. I've found red wine drips from the night before, and wiped them off with a damp cloth, with no staining.

''I don't know why someone would warn you off tung oil, it is food safe, it is extracted from the nut of the China wood tree.''

I am sure you saw this but as mfrog pointed out it is from a nut so for our house with tree nut allergies it is out. It took me a while on this forum for me to hear that information. Everyone chimed in with some alternatives which was very helpful.

Just to clear up a few things.

Waterlox is manufactured using Tung Oil  which is pressed from the nut of the tung tree; Phenolic Resin/Bake-A-Lite; Mineral Spirits and driers and heated/polymerized into a varnish. The solids that remain on the wood after it has dried are 90% renewable as they are tung oil and phenolic resin  both are non-toxic when dry; however, someone with a tree nut allergy could have an allergic reaction to tung oil. Keep in mind that US Money is printed with tung oil based inks.

Waterlox can be used on working surfaces such as counter tops, and is used in that fashion on a daily basis. Once the product is dry and cured, you are left with Tung Oil  a vegetable oil  and Phenolic Resin  a man-made resin. Both of these raw materials are on the FDA site as being food safe.

However if you will be cutting on the surface and using it as a cutting board, we would not recommend using our finish for this purpose as you would cut through the finish and could have some microbial issues within the wood itself. If you will be cutting on the butcher top, you might look for a different finish that does not form a film like a mineral oil.

Hope this helps,

Chip Schaffner - Waterlox Coatings