Butcherblock Countertop Finish

[cstein]

We're sprucing up and expanding the countertop in our ‘19 CCD. For those who have put in butcher block countertops, what did you use for a finish, and how has it held up? I'm considering a few different options knowing that once I do oil, I likely can't go to another finish. So thoughts on oiling regularly, oil/wax combo, Cetol (previous boat owner here) or other finishes beyond the standard polyurethane that can be touched up and maintained?
And.... GO!

Thanks

[GeocamperAS]

You probably know this but just in case, If you plan to also use it as a cutting board make sure what you put on it is food grade.

[cstein]

Originally Posted by GeocamperAS

You probably know this but just in case, If you plan to also use it as a cutting board make sure what you put on it is food grade.

Yes, and thank you, always a good thing to confirm. My plan is to create a nice cutting board from the section that I"ll cut out for the range. There is so little space on the 19' counter, I'm not sure you could even use it for cutting if you tried

[lsbrodsky]

When I was in my woodworking phase years ago, I did a lot of butcher block. The only thing to use is a tung oil finish, some are well formulated for butcher block. Nothing else will hold up and allow you to easily renew. Use real tung oil, not the "partial" tung oil cheap stuff.
Larry

[featherbedder]

My kitchen table has butcher block top.. Tung oil is good, my table top once a year I use cooking oil, various kind that I have in cabinet. I apply a good soaking wet amount, let dry aprox. 8 to 10 hrs. word of caution wet glasses, lids etc. must be dried or else will leave ring marks, can be cleaned with wet cloth dry after doing. I made this table almost 30 yrs. ago still looks as new. Bill

[GeocamperAS]

I was under the impression that cooking oil is not a good thing to use on a butcher block because it can get rancid.
I buy a product that is labeled ‘Butcher Block Oil’

[rmkrum]

Ditto. I think it is basically food grade mineral oil with a little lemon oil in the one I use. Any cooking oil will eventually go rancid, which is not a good thing.

[lsbrodsky]

https://www.sutherlandwelles.com/sho...goil/lowlustre

I'll repeat, the above is the best you can buy for butcher block. well maybe not the best, but far superior to the standard stuff you buy at big box stores or hardware stores. Any oil product is going to require periodic touchup, depending on how you use the counter. If you are just going to look at it, this stuff will never require any additional work.

Larry

[cstein]

Originally Posted by lsbrodsky

https://www.sutherlandwelles.com/sho...goil/lowlustre

I'll repeat, the above is the best you can buy for butcher block. well maybe not the best, but far superior to the standard stuff you buy at big box stores or hardware stores....

Larry

Larry, I found the Sutherland Welles product along with a few others in a "This Old House" article. It certainly appears there are a lot of 'Tung Oil' products on the market that don't actually even have Tung Oil, so thanks for the push to look into this further. Will likely be shopping Tung Oil today on-line and doing research on application.
I'm hoping to rough fit the countertop today so I can draw out the cabinet locations on the bottom side and get the sink and stove cut-outs complete... then the sanding!

[Mollysdad]

I wanted more counter space so I bought a cutting board to straddle the stove.
I bought "butcher block conditioner" at Lowe's.
It's food grade, part oil and part wax.
Set it in the Sun for an hour or so and it flows easily.

[cstein]

Thanks everyone for the recommendations so far... appreciate it! I'll have to post some pictures. We have a 2004 CCD '19 with the dark gray/black cabinetry with white doors. I think swapping the counter from white to wood is going to add a nice little warm contrast to everything. Planning to swap out the dinette table too