Gluing and finishing QLD Red Gum kitchen benchtops

[Chief Tiff]

Hi guys, after some advice.

Having recently purchased a load of QLD Red Gum from Danielveld to make kitchen benchtops I'm now unsure of the best products to use for gluing the boards together and finishing the completed pieces.

Owing to the size of the major piece (5.5m long and 900mm wide at one end) it will be pretty much constructed in situ so I favour the long pot life of epoxy adhesives. Prep will be a final lick with the jointer plane and a wipe with acetone before applying the glue and clamping up.

I'm after a reasonably hard wearing finish that can cope with cooking spills and the inability of a 15yo girl to wipe surfaces down within a month of making them. I've calmly explained to my beloved that I'm not going to rip out her liver if she gives it a minor ding or scratch either, so something that can be repaired or touched up would be nice, but I don't want something that needs to be frequently re-applied to maintain its condition like a wax finish. I don't really like varnishes, mainly because they take weeks to fully cure so if I go down that route it would probably have to be a 2 pack system. I don't have much experience with oils in this area, I've only really ever used them on small items.

So, can anyone give me specific brands to go for here with my ideas, or should I be looking at something completely different?

[Toymaker Len]

The trouble with oils is that they slowly go nearly black, and poly is too plasticy and when it does get damaged you have to go right back to bare wood which leaves (you don't like) varnish. I use a good spar varnish and not only does it go on easily and dry in a day but it is easy to do spot repairs and every couple of years it is once over with 240 grit nice and light and then a thin top-up coat or two wiped on with a cloth and you are set to go.

[Chief Tiff]

When you say it's dry in a day do you mean it's a useable finish 24 hours after application? My experience with varnish is that it remains slightly plastic for at least a week, so anything you put on a surface ends up either sticking to it or leaving a mark.

[mike100jobstodo]

Try using Selleys timber glue (called Selleys Aquadhere) to glue the red gum kitchen benchtops together.

As for maintaining your benchtops, keep in mind that whether you oil or finish the wood with high gloss polyurethane, your benchtops will still be worn out and prone to scratches after some time. You will unfortunately still have to regular treat your benchtops with either polyurethane or wood oil to protect the wood and avoid it from drying out. With polyurethane, your benchtops will have a high gloss finish, is more durable and will require less maintenance as compared to if you oil your benchtops.

Hope helps. Let me know how it goes.

[LGS]

While oils do darken over time, I can't say that any of the work on which I have used Organoil Hard Burnishing Oil over the last 10 years have gone to black. That includes Red Gum, Blackwood, Northern Hardwood, Jarrah and a few others. I have found the finish to be very easy to maintain (I wipe the surfaces with "Spray and Wipe") pleasant aroma, durable and long lived. It is also categorised as Food Safe.
You can see results on many woods here and on my website. You can see more about it (including a good method)
http://www.sanding.damnfinefurniture.com and a review of its durability and results of using the oil and https://www.woodworkforums.com/showthread.php?t=166948

You can also PM me if you want more information.

Regards,

Rob

[Toymaker Len]

I think last time I did the kitchen benchtops (bluegum glulam) it was once over with 240 grit by hand then a layer of varnish applied with a cloth(thursday), then the next day(friday) 240 grit and varnish again and left for the weekend and came back monday and started to use the kitchen as normal, so two and a half days drying but it was january. Thinking about it now I might have a go at something else. I just saw a table done with the hard burnishing oil (that LGS mentions) at Bungendore woodworks and couldn't believe the clarity and gloss, also I would like to do a few things in Ubeauts hard shellac. Our first benchtops were bluegum floorboards with tungoil and although they went nearly black my wife still recalls them as her favourite because she could chop and cut bread directly on the bench and the marks would just be rubbed back and re-oiled.

[Chief Tiff]

Well, so far it looks like the finish will be either a burnished oil or a pour on super gloss; the Minister for War and Finance is leaning towards the oil as she is convinced that when (not if) she or our daughter damage the surface she knows I can fix it with minimal swearing.

As for the glue; Titebond 2 has been suggested but I don't have any experience of it. I'll get some for the two shorter benchtops but for the big bugger I think I want to play it safe and use an epoxy so I have a very long working time while clamping. Selleys Aquadhere I use as my normal go-to bottle of sticky stuff but it definately starts to tack off much too quickly for my taste when joining boards over a meter long.

So, can anybody recommend a suitable epoxy for Red Gum?

[justonething]

Why don't you glue and paint the whole bench top with the same epoxy glass west system 105 resin with 207 hardener. You are get an excellent working surface for many years to come.

[jhovel]

I'd be interested in hearing how it worked ou in a year's time.
I made my fist benches from very old - been drying for et years - redgum some 33 years ago. It finally stopped moving about 10 years ago, after opening several 1/2" wide gaps over that time. I used to fill them up with epoxy once every two years.....

[Chief Tiff]

Why don't you glue and paint the whole bench top with the same epoxy glass west system 105 resin with 207 hardener. You are get an excellent working surface for many years to come.

I have considered something similar, has anyone tried this?

An old friend of mine used to do that to dinghy hulls that he built; he would force the resin into the plywood skin using a rubber bladed scraper. In that application it was excellent (his wife is one of Australia's top dinghy sailors so he can build a decent boat!) but I don't know what it would look like cosmetically. I guess I'd have to polish the end result with micromesh or similar?

[Master Splinter]

Yes, you can polish it (epoxy) to whatever gloss level you want, and you can spot repair it for serious damage...however, if you don't mind/enjoy half an hour's work every 6-12 months, oil can be fun too. While I like both, in this case I'd go for epoxy as it's more acetone resistant when you need to wipe off "Bubblegum Candy Blue" nail polish...

Just remember to coat both sides with the same finish!

[LGS]

I have a mobile kitchen workbench which was finished with Hard Burnishing Oil 10 years ago. It has had everything g thrown at it there is not a stain, or mark on it apart from knife marks. That includes heat, steam, acids and alkalis. I'd put the oil up against most plastics no problem, but if you prefer plastic, go for it.

[Chief Tiff]

Fortunately my daughter hasn't shown much interest in powder and paint so the only spills that I foresee at this time are of the food, water and wine variety.

At this stage the burnished oil finish is looking like the one to go for; when I'm home in a couple of weeks I'll be trying Robs method out on an offcut.