timber bench top finishes

[jason young]

Would anyone know if it is possible to seal a currently oiled bench top with polyurethane finish?
I was just going to sand bench top an finish but am not sure whether the polyurethane will stick .

boof

[Lumnock]

I'd be curious about this also.

I think it would depend some what on the oil used previously, but I'd more inclined to sand it back regardless to make sure it doesn't interfere with the topcoat. I'd be interested in hearing from anyone familiar in this.

[rrobor]

I would say if the oil used has dried out then using an oil based poly should work. As a lover of oil finishes it confuses my why you want to do this. Oil allows the wood to breathe in as much as if you put a hot mug of tea on oil it will not cause a white ring as the ring is moisture in the wood drawn to the surface and trapped there by the finish. But there again I would only use oil on a dense wood, porous timbers could lead to a very patchy finish. But I think the best advice is try it, get a sample piece of wood, oil it. (a thin olive oil should do) let it sit on your test for half an hour then dry it off. leave that for a week or two or if in a hurry stick it the hot oven after the lamb roasts cooked then try it. Its better to find the results on a foot square test than on Her indoors bench top. Failure and that would be the end of your lamb roasts for a long time.