i had some great wood in my last house and so we had wormy maple countertops, sealed with satin poly from lowes several coats lived there two years and never a problem, had 3 glasss cutting boards for prep and hit things and was fine, just had to use caution and care a bit more than usual but was ok. and the unique wood counters just about sold the house and if u want it go for it

I have some in the bathroom of a 40+ year old house. There is discoloration where the soap apparently used to sit, but it looks amazingly good.

I had a small expanse of varnished wood in my old kitchen; the finish was checking and peeling. It was over the dishwasher, next to the sink so it was subject to a lot of water over the years. I don't know what it was finished with; I bought the house two years ago and it was in place at that time.

You can get satin and other levels of low-gloss varnishes in the good marine stuff (like spar varnish). I guess it's technically polyurethane these days and not "varnish", but it IS good stuff. Be careful with how the dishwasher vents because steam might be to much for it, and it might not be up to code near a range or cooktop (but I don't KNOW that).

I have seen but never owned wooden countertops and I agree with you that varnish is more appealing than oiled from a sanitary and maintenance perspective. Using a polyurethane is essentially plastic-coating your wood. What could go wrong? You might have to refinish it every few years, but it's not too hard--you won't have to strip it first unless someone goes crazy with a knife.

There used to be available (and probably still is) a "bar-top" varnish that was designed for heavy-use areas like, well, bars. Test a few different cans of stuff and see which holds up best. And maybe see which smells least bad (or least long) because you will be refinishing once in a while...

Beautiful counters!!

We have varnished wood all around the galley in our sailboat. Our galley is directly under the main hatch. It is a VERY wet environment. The wood looks awesome. Every few years we sand a little and apply a couple more coats to keep it looking great.

Get marine spar varnish. You can get any finish you like. The low gloss versions look lovely.

jenswrens,

that looks like a really nice finish! does the waterlox have a strong odor or last a long time after applying? (finishes often give me headaches....)

also, where did you get your counters?

thanks

Jen - is the countertop still holding up? We have butcher block countertops too (actually an old bowling alley) and I want something other than vegetable oil to put on them too.

Great pictures!

We too used Waterlox on our butcher block island (from Ikea) and love the finish. Waterlox is great in that it comes in different finishes (Satin, Semi-Gloss, Gloss), can be applied over stains (most people feel safest using food-grade types), and is really impervious to water when it dries. It is very easy to apply however there is a little odor that quickly fades as the finish cures.

DeVos Woodworking used to have a webpage loaded with pictures of their wood countertops with Waterlox but the site seems to be down at the moment.

Waterlox here too on teak. You will never regret putting it on. Takes a minute to wipe on and smells for a couple hours and then gone. Never sand again . We have it all around the gas cooktop, deppfat fryer and sink. Here is the link to info.

Here is a link that might be useful: Waterlox

I'm using a satin finish marine varnish in my outdoor kitchen... I think it looks amazing.

Those look awesome

We have a butcher block island we got locally and we oil it. We recently saw that the company added a matte varnish at a home and garden show and they had demo piece at the show and it was gorgeous. If I were to do it over again every, I would get the matte varnish.

We build counters all the time and finish them lots of different products. The best out there is conversion varnish, a film type finish. Usually completed inside a shop/coutners removed. Then there is another product we have used for years and love it- called "The Good Stuff". Very easy to apply and maintain and most DIY friendly.