Yes waterlox is food safe. It is tung oil. After you apply it wait about 24 hours before using. I would suggest several coats. Then you should not need to re oil for about a year. If water beads its sealed.

Good Luck !

Um, no, I think Waterlox has more in it than just tung oil. Do a search for "Tung Oil," which was well-discussed a couple of years ago.

I wouldn't cut on Waterlox, as you are cutting through the sealed surface, exposing the fibers underneath. With an oil/beeswax finish, it sinks into the wood over time, and can be renewed easily. I'm also not sure that I would want microscopic pieces of Waterlox in my diet. It is more than tung oil - sealants, dryers, - check the msds (material safety data sheet) that they have posted on their site. While it is beautiful and easy to renew as well, Waterlox, from what I have heard,should not be cut on.

While the oil/beeswax may seem like a hassle, it is actually sort of like giving someone you love a backrub. I really enjoy giving my cutting board a rub. And after it has gone through seasoning, you may only have to oil/wax certain areas that you tend to cut on more often. However if your island is a large surface, you could also conversely seal the large countertop with Waterlox, and have a separate piece of butcher block that you use the oil/beeswax on. BTW, if you melt beeswax into mineral oil and apply that, (I used mineral oil only at first, then used the mix) you can buff it by hand with a cotton cloth and it leaves a very durable surface.

Sorry I'm not more help. As an fyi, if you have anyone with nut allergies in or visiting your house, you need to be careful with other sealers that have tung oil (Waterlox is made with tung oil, however I am not sure if it causes nut allergy reactions, as it is mixed with hardeners of some sort.) I have both types of countertops, with Waterlox and with the mineral oil/beeswax, and like both, but am glad that most are Waterloxed. It would be too much upkeep otherwise, and become a chore rather than a pleasure. I think it depends how large your island is. You could decide to make it a weekly "date" with your wife - the beeswax in the mineral oil is actually fun to experience. Just think about the pottery scene from the movie "Ghost" :)

We oil (beeswax + oil mix) our island in order to use it as a cutting surface. It's not that big of a deal - at the beginning, it was fun and we wanted to oil it all the time, and now we find we don't need to do it very often (maybe once a month). Waterlox seems not to be prep safe, and also it would get gouged by knives. Our wood hasn't been scratched, but if it is, I assume we could sand it out.

Hestia Flames is correct. Waterlox is intended to seal the surface, just as a coat of varnish would. Its virtue is that it does a better job of keeping out water. But if you're cutting it on a regular basis, you'll defeat the purpose of the Waterlox and open yourself to a number of things I personally would not want in my salads and stews! Mineral oils and bees wax are better choices for keeping up the chopping area.

Also, I personally would not do that to my island. I would use a chopping block. The same people who made the wooden countertop for you could put together a glorious chopping block that would be a joy to use. I've done it both ways, as I cooked professionally for a few years. Chopping block or on the wooden countertop itself. In the end, it doesn't matter much, in terms of convenience and so forth, but the thought of spending all that money for a wood countertop and then slicing it up with a knife! Yow!!!!

Here is a link that might be useful: Cabinet & Furniture Trends & Information

Petestein, can you PLEEEEASE post a picture of your walnut counter? I currently have a posting asking for advice on wood species for my countertop and think I'd like walnut if it won't be too dark! Appreciate it if you can do it, or even just email me one. THANKS!!

Would love to see photos as well. I'd consider a wood top for our island as I think they're gorgeous, but I'm afraid of it getting dinged and scarred from everyday use.

Just for the record, I used Salad Bowl Finish from Rockler Woodworking on my butcher block. It was recommended by someone at Ikeanfans.com, and I really liked it. Easy to apply - rub it on with a paper towel. Completely food-safe within 72 hours. I had to order it from Rockler, as I couldn't find it in any of my local hardware stores.

It seemed easier to apply than mineral oil.

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

But is the salad bowl surface safe for cutting? That's a different thing. Waterlox is food safe (as long you don't have peanut allergy) for things like rolling out dough, but not for cutting.

andreanewengland, sleevepresto... see the link below for a photo of the counter. Sorry for the poor quality -- I snapped it with my iPhone. (Oh, and I would have embedded the image in the post if I knew how. Neat trick.)

All... so it sounds like Waterlox is an excellent product for the wood sink we're planning, but not so great for the kitchen counter where we'll cut.

As far as those aghast at the thought of my cutting right on the counter... well, it's a kitchen, not a museum. It's meant to be used, not oohed and ahhed over. (ok, oohs and aahs are appreciated, but not at the expense of function.)

To the person who asked how big the island is -- it's 4' by 8'.

So why do I want to cut right on the counter instead of a cutting board? If a cutting board is too small, pieces are always falling off of it -- you're endlessly breaking your rhythm to retrieve stray bits.

If it's too big... well then it takes up too much space and it's a hassle to move for cleaning. So why *not* cut right on the wood counter?

The worst that happens is that it gets ugly, I sand it out, refinish that section, and get a cutting board. And th cutting board would hide any kind of sway caused by the sanding.

Why walnut? Well, there may have been a better species for cutting on, but the whole first floor is one big room (I'm in a converted carriage house). You can see the kitchen counter from anywhere in the entry hall, living room, dining room, staircase... so it had to look good (I'm not THAT into function over form.) Walnut seemed to be the best overall choice considering we wanted to use one wood for the counter, the mantle and the stair handrail.

Finally, for all those oil + beeswax fans -- can you tell me your overall process for that? Ratio of wax to oil? Just oil at first, oil + wax later? How often do you reapply? How sticky is the counter and for how long? Feedback appreciated.

Thanks all!

-Peter

Here is a link that might be useful:

I'm a wax and oil fan.

I have Waterlox on my floors -- a miscommunication. I don't like it. It definitely flakes up. It is not a repairable finish. Some people love it, but I think it looks and feels plasticky, just like polyurethane, and the only thing they say you can do when it gets damaged is to paint on another layer of the stuff, which it sounds like you would need to do fairly regularly.

I have a lot of wood furniture, much of it antique. Oil and wax are not rocket science. Don't overintellectualize it. You can use oil, wax or a mix, or use them in sequence. Oil, like mineral oil, is the easiest. I'd put a little of that on first.

(But I'd definitely talk to your countertop person before doing anything I learned about on the Internet! They may have finished them with something, or they might be able to do something for you just for the asking.)

A 50/50 mix of beeswax/mineral oil, sometimes sold as Beesoil, buffed on at room temperature is next easiest and lasts longer. Gives a nice silky feeling. Buffing on pure beeswax is harder, but it can be done. You need to build enough speed (remember physics class?) that you create heat, melt the wax and distribute it evenly. Don't do something like melt the wax on the stove and pour it out on the counter! You'll just have a big candle sitting there you'll need to scrape off and rub in. We're talking a microscopic layer of wax.

But if you don't have time to wax, you can throw on a little oil in between.

The counter shouldn't be sticky with any of these. If if is, you need to take the excess off. You can wipe up excess oil, and with the wax, you buff the wax off (the wax melts and cools down to a sleek solid layer), and when you do the floors, you can slide down the halls in your socks. They're literally sqeaky clean.

However, once you try this, if you decide you want to Waterlox after all, you'd have to do a serious sanding to get up ALL the oil and wax. But in my personal opinion, the difference is like the difference between painted clapboards and vinyl siding. You're obviously accepting a lot of permanent damage due to chopping. A few water spots aren't going to bother you.

That is a beautiful counter. But hey, have you ever thought of using a cutting board?

Pure tung oil and citrus solvent. Available at the Milk Paint company website. They are food safe. I don't cut on my cherry counters, but I use the same mixture to treat my chopping blocks, wooden spoons etc. Highly recommend. Beautiful finish. We did waterlox on our floors. Know all about it. I would not cut on it.

We use a beeswax/mineral oil blend called Bee's Oil, made by Holland Bowl Mill. You rub it on and then buff it off. Our island is 4 x 8, and it takes maybe 15 minutes to do. It's not sticky - I put my stuff right back on it. I haven't done it in a while - maybe I'll do it today and report back if I have any more to add!

Growlery, November... how *often* do you apply the oil/wax to your counter? I'm fine doing it once every 8 weeks or so. Or even ever 4 weeks. (especially if I can cheat and use just oil at times). But every week or two would be annoying.

Pirula, so interesting you use the tung/citrus solvent combo on a cutting surface. A couple questions:

-- What does it look like? Flat? Glossy? Satin?

-- How do you touch up the cutting block?

-- I thought tung oil didn't perform like mineral oil -- but more like a Waterlox or varnish -- it creates a hardened layer. Doesn't that layer get compromised by your knives? Doesn't that lead to problems?

Thanks again everyone for all the great guidance.

Oh, and Growlery, indeed it's a beautiful counter. Much more beautiful in person. But again, it's a kitchen, not a museum. I'll only be messing up a 24" by 18" area and that same beautiful wood is my mantel, stair handrail, bed, and vanity front. Plenty of walnut to admire. ;)

-Peter

The citrus solvent helps the tung oil absorb. Absolutely zero issues with hardening or with the layers being compromised or "bits" of finish at all, ever.

The finish is pretty satiny. especially once you start working in the kitchen, and you're hands get on it and it's just beautiful. Pics of our kitchen below...

I keep a bottle of the 50/50 mixture for when I need it and I just take a soft cloth and rub some in, then let it dry/evaporate on its own. If I'm in a hurry, I buff with a clean, soft cloth. I do the cutting boards every few months. I only do the counters once a year, when they suddenly look "tired." But only to me. People are always asking me if I just oiled them. Uhhh, no.

Here is a link that might be useful: Wood counters

I oil and/or wax my island top about every 6 or 8 weeks. We did it more often at the beginning because it was fun. We do the oil much more often than the beeswax because it's easier (so oil every 6 or 8 weeks and wax every other time).