I’m feeling a little proud of myself for making my own maple countertops. I think they look great, but I am not sure if I should apply the same finish to the underside as I did to the top. I used 4 coats of salad bowl oil (recommended by the guys at Woodworker’s Supply.) What should I do with the underside of them?
Thanks for your help.
Replies
The same thing...
Are you going to use your countertops for cutting?
Not so much. Will still probably use a cutting board. Why?
Because I don't think your finish is going to stand up well--you will have to renew it probably every week. If it is a cutting board then that is fine. If it is a countertop I think a more durable finish would be in order.Gretchen
There seems to be wide variation in the archives on this subject with some saying it works fine and some not. Have you used salad oil on a countertop before and had it fail?
Gretchen's recommendations are correct. Use a separate cutting board for cutting... not the countertop.
And salad oil is a very poor choice when it comes to durability. It is a "food-safe" coating oriented toward, yes you guessed it: salad bowls, but that's about all. A far better choice is a quality (read that: high end) Danish Oil, or a combination of DO plus a varnish. 4-6 coats is a good starting point. Allow several days drying time between coats. Tried & True is a highly recommended product; they offer both. Lee Valley's website is but one source for the product. (And absolutely coat both sides of any wood piece).
Well . . . here's what I got. Thre countertops (12",36", and 9'). They are all finished with 5 coats of salad bowl oil topside. Underside there are between 2 and 3 coats. I have got to get these installed as my first child is due in about two weeks. I never intended to use the countertops as cutting boards and some scarring is only character right? I am much more worried that the random width boards will separate. The maple was in the kitchen for 4 weeks prior to glue up so I think they at least came close to acclimating to ambient air moisture. The counters look great, but I want to be able to sleep at night knowing that they will not start to separate. All the tables I have made in the past I did actually use Tried and True Danish Oil and you are right that it is a great product. Being a newbie to countertops though I went with a recommendation. With tables I have never finished the underside and there have been no consequences to this. What am I looking at here? What do you think I should do?
Does your sink drop into the maple? If so, and if you didn't use a waterproof glue, I think you may have problems down the road. I used Waterlox on my maple counters about two years ago and they've held up well, but...
- I have 3 linear feet of 12" tiles on either side of the sink.
- We use a cutting board, always.
- kids are gone, wife and I are careful old folks.
A guy at Highland Hardware recommended the Waterlox. I wiped on 4 or 5 coats, rubbed out lightly in between. I'm not familiar with salad bowl oil but I assume it doesn't form a film. If I were you, I'd go with the oil for awhile and keep a close eye on it. Then add a more protective top coat later if necessary. Good luck and congratulations!
ps. I didn't finish the undersides, too hard to get at. These are factory made 1 1/2" thick tops and I don't think they're going anywhere.
Thanks for the post Ian. I did use waterproof glue - no problem there. Water is definitely beading on my finish even after several hours (I did an inadvertent test). My sink does drop in, but I am a careful young guy and, Lord knows, my girlfriend and I know all too well the amount of work that went into these countertops. Your e-mail made me feel much more at ease - Thanks.
Put on the Danish oil for color and then coat the countertops with a good poly--a number of coats. You are really going to have to do this at some time--this is just not a countertop finish--it is a salad bowl and cutting board finish.Gretchen
carpenterfis-- I agree with iancummins: use multiple coats of Waterlox to finish your countertop. It will build to a water-resistant top coat and is easy to repair when ( and I do mean when ) you need to do some touch-ups on your counter. You can't do that with polyurethane, which is why I wouldn't recommend it for this use. Besides, I think the Waterlox is a much better looking finish. Its not plasticy (is that a word?) looking like the ploy. Good luck with your counters.
Whatever so thou doest to one side of a panel; so shall thou doest to the other side of the panel.
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