Can we talk about wooden counter tops again...please.

13 years ago

I am thinking about wooden counter tops due to the price. What I had invisioned was counter tops stained to a warm red brown. Was thinking a cross between english chestnut and red mahogony. Then I heard you can't stain them and put food on them. Is there no way to stain and then poly with a food safe poly and have food on it but not cut on it. I would like to be able to put down bread when making a sandwich or roll out pizza dough. I do not plan on cutting on it. I have always used cutting boards for that. I thought about having wooden counter tops and one section something else but in my small kitchen I think it would look to buisy. There is no room for a island.

I came accross an article in Better Homes and Gardens July 2007 and they had stained a Ikea counter top and then put "food safe poly" whatever that means. I can't imagine that they never have food on the counter. What are people doing?

I do know that mineral oil will darken the counter top but I think oak or american cherry will still look orange if a stain is not applied.

Any ideas would be so great. Who can beat kitchen counter tops for under 1,000.

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Comments (11)

still_lynnski
13 years ago
I think this thread (and these gorgeous photos) are worth a thousand words!

Here is a link that might be useful: walnut countertop
Circus Peanut
13 years ago
I recommend PolyWhey for a clear waterbased finish, it's a fabulous finish -- uses milk whey instead of urethane. Has virtually no odor and dries in about an hour. Amazing stuff. Did my staircase with it last year (it dried before the cats even woke from their nap) and it wears like iron. I've switched over to using it entirely for any poly project.

There's also BioShield Wood Counter Finish, OSMO, SoyGuard and other oil types that work well and can be recoated easily.

You can stain under/with any of these using non-aniline (food-safe) stains.

Here is a link that might be useful: polywhey and other bio-shield type safe finishes
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maidielou
13 years ago
I think the whole "food safe" term refers to the fact that you can't cut on it and not ruin the finish plus you can't put food directly on it before it's cured. Surely any finish is ok to put food on after it's dried and cured. That would be like saying you can't eat a piece of bread that sat for a minute on your wood table because it didn't have a food safe finish.
ideagirl2
13 years ago
Have you considered walnut or mahogany? Those would both look reddish-brown, not orange. Lyptus might also work (see link below) and it's less expensive. There would be no need to stain if you picked the right wood species.

Here is a link that might be useful: CraftArt Wooden Countertops-Wood Species-Lyptus
lazy_gardens
13 years ago
I looked into what the colorant are in wood stains. Most of the browns and reddish browns are various mixes of IRON OXIDES. Yup, Iron and Oxygen. We can't have our food touching those horrible toxins!

Waterlox - after it is cured - is "food safe" tung oil based. It's nasty smelling during the process because of one of the solvents and the tung oil itself may offend the nose.
magic_arizona
13 years ago
The Waterlox website says it can be done.

Here is a link that might be useful: Waterlox
clg7067
13 years ago
Not what you asked, but related...instead of staining, why not use a aniline dye? I won't mask the wood grain, and woodworkers use them a lot. They come in water soluble, or alcohol.

Here is a link that might be useful: Transfast Dyes
Fori
13 years ago
I'm with Maidielou.

Stain it and poly it. Just like a TABLE. We aren't all afraid to put food on our wooden tables are we?

I think you could eat those polyurethane chips, any kind, and they'd just pass right through you.

I'm more comfortable eating off of cured polyurethane than granite sealer.
ideagirl2
13 years ago
**I looked into what the colorant are in wood stains. Most of the browns and reddish browns are various mixes of IRON OXIDES.**

Colorants are not the only things contained in woodstains. It may not be the colorants that are the problem.
both
Original Author
13 years ago
Thanks for all the answers. I had not looked into Walnut and Mahogany due to the price. Lumber Liquidators carries 12 foot long American cherry and maple for 330. This I can afford!!! If I could afford the other you bet I would get it. I think that the prices go up to over 1,000 a piece.

When I asked LL they told me that with a stain and poly I could not roll out pizza dough. But I tend to think it would be ok. Because of the mixed information I get nervous. But how many times have I rolled out dough on plastic and wooden tables. Thanks Everyone!!!!
allison0704
13 years ago
We had an antique pine counter on our island. Although not stained, it is finished with food safe Good Stuff For Wood.

Here is a link that might be useful: my kitchen