Timber Benchtop

[OBBob]

Hi All

I was thinking about a timber benchtop (Jarrah) for my kitchen.

- Can I get a glossy finish using oil to seal it?

- What can use to clean it if I oil it?

- Do they wear well or is there a lot of up keep?

[RufflyRustic]

Hi OBBob,

This discussion might be of great interest to you.

It's about the Kitchen Island Bench in the Finishing forum.

cheers
Wendy

[SilentButDeadly]

Hi All

I was thinking about a timber benchtop (Jarrah) for my kitchen.

- Can I get a glossy finish using oil to seal it?

- What can use to clean it if I oil it?

- Do they wear well or is there a lot of up keep?

We are doing ours in river red gum.........

Q1: Yes. Sort of. Sand down to 1200 grit wet &dry and use something like Organoil Hard Burnishing Oil. With paitence you'll get a mirror like satin finish.

Q2: Same as any ordinary benchtop. Then every six months or so wipe it down with a beeswax polish.

Q3: Hardwood benchtops wear very well and they develop a wonderful character over time. They are no harder to look after than any other picec of oiled furniture.

[Kayoss]

no need to sand timber to a 1200 finish, 240 to 320 is fine. I wouldnt oil a kitchen bench top. With the great 2pac laquers available today theres just the original application and that will be stronger and last longer than any other finish. And theres no monthly maintainence.

In our shop we use Beckers laquaer and havent seen much better, cant recomend it highly enough.


Keeping in mind this finsh is not for cutting surfaces ei chopping boards,

[burraboy]

I used Tung oil on a radiata pine bench top and despite an initial good result, three years later we finished up with a sticky surface that needs redoing. Tung oil worked well on my floors which are a combination of Cypress and Mountain Ash, but not on the kitchen bench. I don't know if that is because of the timber type or because of the different conditions they are subjected to.

[OBBob]

Yeah ... it hasn't gone as well as I had hoped. I have tride some wipe on poly over the dried oil and it appears to adhere ok, so I am comsiderring giving it some coats of that product. Fingers crossed!

[ptrott]

I was thinking about a timber benchtop (Jarrah) for my kitchen.

Fantastic wood for benchtops...see here..www.iinet.net.au/~ptrott/ourcastle.html
go down to Our Castles Kitchen and click on the HERE link.
These are nearly 6 months old and have had nothing more than wipe-over with damp sponge exactly as you would any ordinary benchtop. They look as good as the day they were finished.



- Can I get a glossy finish using oil to seal it?

Absolutely! Ours are done with Floods Paint Oil (same as Floods Wood Oil but without the smell and cheaper) The secret is to sand wet with oil and 320Grit or a little finer for the first treatment, which fills the grain if it needs it. Wipe off excess straight away.
If it looks like you have a "coating" get a turps soaked rag and remove the "coating" before it sets. Allow to cure for a few hours.
Apply more oil with a cloth pad (folded cotton) making sure to remove excess, and allow at least a few hours to cure. Under no circumstances allow a build-up. You are just filling the wood, NOT coating it. If you get a coating above the wood, it will scratch just like any other clear finish will. If you don't get a coating it will not scratch.
Repeat the applications with cloth pad and remove excess etc...etc.. as many times as it takes until the oil no longer soaks in, and you have still not "coated" it. Make sure to wait a few hours between coats.
Ours took between 6 and 10 applications (varied with the porosity of the particular section being treated)
Wifey has not been careful at all with these tops, but there is not a mark on them to date. I did the same finish on the splashback & top in the Dining room pics (see 2nd last pic in Dining room section)



- What can use to clean it if I oil it?
Just wipe it over with a damp or wet sponge & use soap if you want to. It will not mark.
Wifey puts saucepans on the tops straight off the stove and there are no marks.

- Do they wear well or is there a lot of up keep?[/quote]
If you follow the above instructions they will outlast you with no special care or upkeep.
If you want close-up pics of the tops as they are now, just message me with your email address & I'll take some pics and send them to you.

Cheers,
Phill.