dpb on Thu, 27 Feb 2020 10:16:08 -0600 typed in
rec.woodworking the following:
On 2/26/2020 10:33 PM, Sonny wrote:
On Wednesday, February 26, 2020 at 7:53:13 PM UTC-6, pyotr filipivich wrote:
Greetings

Planning some "hunnydews" - one is to put a shelf behind the sink,
over the backslash, for holding scrubbies, dish soap and the like.
Wife is concerned about wood getting all "funky" (not her term). I'm
thinking that either spar varnish or one of the polyurethane would
work to prevent water from soaking into the boards.

What sayeth the hive mind?

Well, corian or PVC would work, but so will spar varnished wood (of your choice or to match what may already be in the neighborhood). How big is the shelf to be? It will likely be well away from most splashes. I highly suspect any problems will be with soap and other cleansers.
...

The latter is indeed the deal; depending upon just what is placed there.

It's a tossup imo altho if there's a leftover of the counter material
from sink cutout or the like it's then both at hand, in synch with
existing material and very abuse tolerant for the purpose...

Any cutouts from the counter install went bye-bye years before she
bought the house.

There's not enough room under or around window over the sink in this
kitchen but wish were for precisely the purpose as the back edge of the
sink is always cluttered as is...

--
pyotr filipivich
Next month's Panel: Graft - Boon or blessing?