What finish treatment do/did you use on your wood countertops?

13 years ago

Hi all,

So we've finally decided to definitely do wood countertops for our perimeter counters and go with Grothouse Lumber. In an effort to bring costs down, we are going with an edge grain wood instead of planks in either cherry, an african mahogany, or walnut. Grothouse is sending us out samples of each next week.

Another cost-saving measure is to handle maintenance of them countertops ourselves by oiling them with food-grade mineral oil. The other option is the "Durata" finish (specific to G Lumber), which is a permanent finish that doesn't require periodic maintenance other than wiping up spills. Drawbacks include scratches can't be sanded out and re-oiled, and that it isn't technically food-prep safe. We aren't planning on prepping food on the perimeters, but you never know. Also, the permanent finish is quite a bit more expensive.

SO - how do you find maintenance with your wood countertops? I've done a search and found various mentions here and there, but would welcome a whole host of ideas in one place. GLumber recommends oiling once a month. It could be a lot, considering we technically have 7 sections of perimeter countertop, including what is in the butler's pantry. But I would imagine that over time we would need to oil a bit less as they age with the oilings.

Thanks so much, you guys are great!

Jen

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Comments (4)

sombreuil_mongrel
13 years ago
Hi,
I have a butcherblock-topped work table in my kitchen (like a small mobile island) and I fabricated the top and finished it with four coats of salad bowl finish. It's a thinned-down food safe varnish with a lower gloss finish, and it's available at Woodcraft stores. There is no plastic-y look, the finish is wiped on. It has held up better than expected in the 3.5 years since I finished it.
Casey
juliekcmo
13 years ago
I have a Boos maple island. We did our kitchen about 10 years ago.

We have the oiled finish. At installation, I believe they rubbed in 3 coats of "boos oil" which is a food grade oil. (available online if you google it)

Then for about the first 6 months I reoiled about every 6 weeks. Now I do 1 or 2 times a year.

We love love love our wood counter..its a 7 foot long cutting board! We cut right on it and it looks great after all this time. Stains mostly come out with a rub of baking soda and vinegar for things like berry juice. The only time I needed to sand and re-oil was for Sharpie ink.
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sara_the_brit_z6_ct
13 years ago
I used Salad Bowl Finish on the butcher block on my island. It was recommended over at Ikeanfans.com, and I bought it from Rockler Woodworking - it was very easy to apply (sand the butcher block; wipe on the oil with a piece of rag or kitchen paper; let dry; sand; repeat).

My initial treatment was about 4 coats overall, I think. 2 years later, I still haven't needed to reapply, and the surface gets treated pretty roughly - I roll out and cut pastry on it, scrape it with a palette knife, and so on. Still repels water beautifully.

My sister did linseed oil on her butcher block - my BIL applied something like 9 coats, and it looks incredibly shiny. She too has never re-applied over the last 2 years.

Here is a link that might be useful: Salad Bowl Finish
rhome410
13 years ago
Oiled is good if you plan to cut on the surface. For our island, which we don't cut on, we used Waterlox. It can be 'refreshed' without sanding and refinishing the whole thing. I haven't done that on the island, but have on other wood work in the house. The island finish has been very tough and protective with heavy use, including around the prep sink. We did 2 coats of the original/sealer, then followed with rag-applied coats of the Satin, for the look of a hand-rubbed finish.

Here is a link that might be useful: Waterlox guide for counters (a pdf file)