Wooden Countertop Finish preferences

I have 2 different countertop-related jobs coming up - 1 is building a few counter/bar tops and finishing them. The other is refinishing a stained maple island countertop that was built less than 3 yrs ago (by someone else) and the finish is already starting to chip, crack and fail so I’m thinking it needs to be taken back down to raw wood and refinished.

Along with boats, exterior doors and maybe family dining table tops, wooden countertops see similar levels abuse and need a pretty bombproof finish. I’m looking for some different than Waterlox, which I’ve used multiple times in the past and like, but it just takes such an incredibly long time to dry and cure. 24 hrs between coats and pretty much shutting down the shop for a week due to keeping the dust disturbance to a minimum is highly disruptive to my other work that will need to be happening simultaneously.

Ideally I would use something that I can spray with my 4 stage Fuji HVLP and that dries a bit faster than Waterlox. I have used plenty of waterborne lacquers from the likes of Target Coatings, Sherwin Williams Kem Aqua +, as well as a really nice exterior rated waterborne poly from Milesi on an door a built a year or so back. I don’t know if I can personally trust a waterborne finish in these applications, but would love for someone to tell me otherwise if they have good experiences with a clear waterborne that performs well in high use / wear areas.

I have heard great things repeatedly about a spar varnish called Total Boat Gleam 2.0, but have not tried it yet. It looks pretty glossy, and I’m looking for more of a satin look, but understand that more gloss tends to mean more protection so that’s a bit of a compromise.

There is no sink in the island countertop that needs refinishing, but there is a cooktop. The client understands that it can’t be cut on top of and hot pots and pans can’t be placed directly on the counter. The photos I’ve seen don’t look that bad, but have a few small spots where the top coat is totally compromised and need attention. There are also small scratches all over the top, I’m assuming from general wear and tear (plates, life, etc.) It also has a wood stain on it, that looks similar to Minwax Early American and will need to be re-applied if I sand back to raw wood and have a clear top coat that is compatible with going over an oil based stain.

Anyone have any thoughts on relatively bombproof clear coats that don’t take a week plus to dry and apply and aren’t high gloss?

Thanks!

Phillip, if you've read my posts on testing finishes then you know that I have not yet found a WB product as bulletproof as oil based varnish. I have not yet tested a true catalyzed product, however, and that is what I think it will take to get equivalent performance. A 2K Poly would be what I'd look at. ChemCraft makes one, called Aqualux Post Cat Topcoat, as does General Finishes called Enduro Conversion 2K Varnish.

John

John, thanks for the reply. I have used a 2k exterior rated poly from Milesi on an exterior door with no real weather exposure and it was a dream to work with and looked amazing. I’m told that it’s holding up well, but haven’t seen it in about a year.

I would use a 2k poly from Milesi again in a heartbeat if I could match existing stains with what they offer. That’s something I need to look into.

I was also advised from another woodworker friend to check out Renner and contact the folks at waterbasedfinish.com as something comparable to Milesi.

What is the practical difference between waterborne 2k poly and 2k conversion varnish?

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Originally Posted by Phillip Mitchell

John, thanks for the reply. I have used a 2k exterior rated poly from Milesi on an exterior door with no real weather exposure and it was a dream to work with and looked amazing. I’m told that it’s holding up well, but haven’t seen it in about a year.

I would use a 2k poly from Milesi again in a heartbeat if I could match existing stains with what they offer. That’s something I need to look into.

I was also advised from another woodworker friend to check out Renner and contact the folks at waterbasedfinish.com as something comparable to Milesi.

What is the practical difference between waterborne 2k poly and 2k conversion varnish?

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I haven't a clue. All I noticed in GF's blurb was that their 2K CV had both polyurethane and acrylic resins in it.

John

This seems to be a decent technical description of 2K poly finishes. http://finishing.tips/catalyzed-polyurethane-finish/ Also https://www.woodshopnews.com/columns...oon-in-the-u-s Probably the biggest issues in use are pot life and toxicity, though whether the levels of isocyanates are worse than the formaldehyde in acid catalyzed conversion varnishes seems to be debatable. You really need good PPE and exhaust systems to be safe. I haven't worked with them, but they seem to be the highest performing finishes available for wood products. If you haven't checked out the Woodweb finishing forum archives I think you will find some info there.

My longest lasting wooden countertop finishes were done with Moisture Cure Urethane floor finish. I know of one I did in 1991 that is still scratch free. See thread about "best floor finishes". https://sampsoncoatings.com/products...cure-urethane/

I've done 3 wood countertops with under mount sinks. For all 3, I used clear, low viscosity epoxy on the sink cut out edges & underside where the sink attaches.

One counter was finished with a penetrating oil finish. The owners are careful about cleanup & they re-apply the oil every year or so. It still looks great.

The next one was also finished with a penetrating oil finish. In this case, the owners were not careful with cleanup & after a few months, it looked terrible.

The third countertop is in a fifth wheel & is only used about 1 month out of the year, but that month is very heavy use. It was finished with 4 coats of Arm-R-Seal. The owners (my wife & I) are careful with cleanup & the counter, after 3 months of use, still looks like the day I installed it. When I say heavy use, I mean that there are usually 7 - 10 of us camping, with 4 of those being in the 12 - 18 range. There is always something going on at the kitchen counter & water or food has occasionally sat on it for hours at a time.

My preference leans toward Arm-R-Seal (or other wipe on polyurethane) because it is quite durable & a refinish is not terribly difficult.

Exterior finishes are LESS waterproof and SOFTER than interior finishes.

Any KCMA certified finish should perform well; IF no one uses a knife on the wooden counter top.

I like Sherwin Williams Kem-Aqua Plus (SW chemical coating stores; not all the regular paint store can sell it)

I've used it for wood surfaces in a major chain restaurants. NOT in the kitchens. Only oil and/or waxes are allowed on working wooded surfaces in commercial kitchens.

Scott, thanks for the reply. I have used Kem Aqua Plus and like it, though I don’t know if I would consider it durable enough for countertops.

Kevin, thanks for your reply as well. I’ve done a good bit of reading over the years on Woodweb finishing forum. I talked to some retailers of Renner (water based Italian finish) and looked into a 2k Poly they offer that seemed well suited for countertop finish.

https://www.waterbasedfinish.com/sho...yoxx-c688-sbn/

Still researching...I may try and call the Milesi supplier and see how some of the working properties, dry times, custom tinting options of their 2k Polys compare though I’m sure they are similar.

"I would use a 2k poly from Milesi again in a heartbeat if I could match existing stains with what they offer. That’s something I need to look into.

Philip, the distributor for Milesi in this area is Atlantic Plywood https://www.atlanticplywood.com/brand/milesi/. They do stain color matching and they may be able to advise you on compatible stains or using an Isolante barrier coat over oil based stains.