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Thread: Finishing a Butcher Block Countertop?

  1. #16
    Join Date
    Feb 2010
    Location
    Pueblo, CO
    Posts
    328
    When I want the BLO look with protection, I start with a coat of BLO/Mineral Spirits/oil based poly, 1/3 of each. Once that has cured, I'll top coat with a 50/50 wipe on blend of MS/Poly. Usually 5-6 coats. Looks good to me and seems to hold up well.

    I have an oak desk that I stained and topped with poly about 18 years ago. Starting to show some signs of wear where my arms rest on the edges after working from home for 14 months. I call it character or patina and have no intention to refinish it.

  2. #17
    Join Date
    Mar 2003
    Location
    SE PA - Central Bucks County
    Posts
    65,638
    Don, if you're going to top coat with the oil based "poly", in most cases, the BLO or BLO mixture is going to be redundant and an extra step that's not going to materially change the look. Do a side by side comparison test and wait about a month. I doubt you'll see any difference between the two, other than the extra work of applying the oil or oil mixture as a first step. For those of us who use waterborne top coats, the Oil, wax-free shellac and then topcoat method really is necessary for the "oil loo" and to warm up the color because most waterborne products are clear/cold looking. Oil based products, already have "the look" inherent.
    --

    The most expensive tool is the one you buy "cheaply" and often...

  3. #18
    I used Odie's Oil in our in the camper van. Looks great, beads water, and it's "rebuildable", so I can reapply it every 6 months or whatever.

    Also: cheap and easy

  4. #19
    Join Date
    Jan 2010
    Location
    Lafayette, Indiana
    Posts
    1,378
    I’d go with a satin or matte poly finish and be done with it. We have a kitchen table that is 18 years old and was finished with two coats of brushed on minwax satin poly. This table is used everyday multiple times a day. We have six kids, don’t use a table cloth and table top is red oak veneer plywood. It has held up great. Groceries are dumped on t a couple times a week, my wife uses it to cut fabric for quilts. Your laminated solid hardwood counter top with three coats of poly will not need to be refinished unless you spill solvents on the table or are careless or just really abusive. A film finish will be easier to dust than a penetrating oil finish.

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