I am making a kitchen counter top using southern yellow pine, mostly
quarter sawn. I finished a previous one with mineral oil, but it dries
out rather often and needs more coats.

I am wondering if BLO would be a workable solution for this. Though the
counter is in a kitchen, it will not be used as a cutting board, so I am
not concerned about a 'food-safe' finish. It is also not in a wet location.

If this would work, how should it be applied? I have never worked with
BLO, so would appreciate any advice.

If this is not recommended, what is?

Thanks for any help,
Harvey

eclipsme wrote:
I am making a kitchen counter top using southern yellow pine, mostly
quarter sawn. I finished a previous one with mineral oil, but it dries
out rather often and needs more coats.

I am wondering if BLO would be a workable solution for this. Though the
counter is in a kitchen, it will not be used as a cutting board, so I am
not concerned about a 'food-safe' finish. It is also not in a wet location.

If this would work, how should it be applied? I have never worked with
BLO, so would appreciate any advice.

If this is not recommended, what is?

Thanks for any help,
Harvey

I've been doing a little research on wood countertops and one of the
high end countertop websites I found said they use Waterlox. I think
the Waterlox website has a mention of countertops too. I've used it on
a couple of projects and I'm sold on everything but the cost. It's
pretty pricey compared to the alternatives.

DonkeyHody
"Even an old blind hog finds an acorn every now and then."

"DonkeyHody" wrote in
oups.com:

I've been doing a little research on wood countertops and one of the
high end countertop websites I found said they use Waterlox. I think
the Waterlox website has a mention of countertops too. I've used it
on a couple of projects and I'm sold on everything but the cost. It's
pretty pricey compared to the alternatives.


Enough Waterlox to do a huge kitchen's counters with many coats is still
less than $20, IIRC. Even if that's twice the cost of something else, it's
still less than $20.

And it's good stuff.

Patriarch

Patriarch wrote:
Enough Waterlox to do a huge kitchen's counters with many coats is still
less than $20, IIRC. Even if that's twice the cost of something else, it's
still less than $20.

And it's good stuff.


Agreed. I guess I'm still influenced by my first experience. I
couldn't find it locally and ended up paying over $30 for a quart with
shipping. It wouldn't be a high percentage of the cost of a
countertop, but it added significantly to the cost of the small project
I was working on at the time. Of course I still have about half a can,
but my mind still hangs onto the notion that it's expensive.

DonkeyHody
"We should be careful to get out of an experience only the wisdom
that is in it - and stop there; lest we be like the cat that sits down
on a hot stove-lid. She will never sit down on a hot stove-lid
again---and that is well; but also she will never sit down on a cold
one anymore." - Mark Twain

DonkeyHody wrote:
eclipsme wrote:
I am making a kitchen counter top using southern yellow pine, mostly
quarter sawn. I finished a previous one with mineral oil, but it dries
out rather often and needs more coats.

I am wondering if BLO would be a workable solution for this. Though the
counter is in a kitchen, it will not be used as a cutting board, so I am
not concerned about a 'food-safe' finish. It is also not in a wet location.

If this would work, how should it be applied? I have never worked with
BLO, so would appreciate any advice.

If this is not recommended, what is?

Thanks for any help,
Harvey

I've been doing a little research on wood countertops and one of the
high end countertop websites I found said they use Waterlox. I think
the Waterlox website has a mention of countertops too. I've used it on
a couple of projects and I'm sold on everything but the cost. It's
pretty pricey compared to the alternatives.

DonkeyHody
"Even an old blind hog finds an acorn every now and then."

Hmm... Why not just use Tung Oil? I never seem to trust the "made from"
mixtures. I wonder if they really add any value.

Anyway, thanks for the post.

Harvey

eclipsme wrote:

DonkeyHody wrote:
eclipsme wrote:
I am making a kitchen counter top using southern yellow pine, mostly
quarter sawn. I finished a previous one with mineral oil, but it dries
out rather often and needs more coats.
snip

I've been doing a little research on wood countertops and one of the
high end countertop websites I found said they use Waterlox. I think
the Waterlox website has a mention of countertops too. I've used it on
a couple of projects and I'm sold on everything but the cost. It's
pretty pricey compared to the alternatives.

DonkeyHody
"Even an old blind hog finds an acorn every now and then."

Hmm... Why not just use Tung Oil? I never seem to trust the "made from"
mixtures. I wonder if they really add any value.

Anyway, thanks for the post.

Harvey, I finished my SYP workbench with pure tung oil, and love the
look as well as the finish for that application. But I don't think I'd
use it (or BLO) for a counter where I want to protect the surface.
While I agree with your skepticism about "made from" products, don't
confuse waterlox with an oil finish. It is a phenolic resin varnish
that uses tung as the oil part of the mix. But it creates a very hard
film finish which rubs out beautifully. A friend did a mahogany
surface in his kitchen with it. Said he initially winced every time
someone threw down their keys on the counter, or a teenaged friend of
his children sat or leaned on it. But it still looks great. Never seen
it on SYP, but I think it tends to amber a little like BLO, so should
be very attractive.

--
Alex -- Replace "nospam" with "mail" to reply by email. Checked infrequently.

eclipsme wrote:
I am making a kitchen counter top using southern yellow pine, mostly
quarter sawn. I finished a previous one with mineral oil, but it dries
out rather often and needs more coats.

I am wondering if BLO would be a workable solution for this. Though the
counter is in a kitchen, it will not be used as a cutting board, so I am
not concerned about a 'food-safe' finish. It is also not in a wet location.

If this would work, how should it be applied? I have never worked with
BLO, so would appreciate any advice.

If this is not recommended, what is?

Thanks for any help,
Harvey

Another consideration is smell. Film forming finishes like Waterlox
tend to stink until they cure and then they are pretty much odorless.
With BLO, I think your kitchen would reek of linseed oil forever.

DonkeyHody
"Friends may come and go, but enemies accumulate."

alexy wrote:
eclipsme wrote:

DonkeyHody wrote:
eclipsme wrote:
I am making a kitchen counter top using southern yellow pine, mostly
quarter sawn. I finished a previous one with mineral oil, but it dries
out rather often and needs more coats.
snip
I've been doing a little research on wood countertops and one of the
high end countertop websites I found said they use Waterlox. I think
the Waterlox website has a mention of countertops too. I've used it on
a couple of projects and I'm sold on everything but the cost. It's
pretty pricey compared to the alternatives.

DonkeyHody
"Even an old blind hog finds an acorn every now and then."

Hmm... Why not just use Tung Oil? I never seem to trust the "made from"
mixtures. I wonder if they really add any value.

Anyway, thanks for the post.

Harvey, I finished my SYP workbench with pure tung oil, and love the
look as well as the finish for that application. But I don't think I'd
use it (or BLO) for a counter where I want to protect the surface.
While I agree with your skepticism about "made from" products, don't
confuse waterlox with an oil finish. It is a phenolic resin varnish
that uses tung as the oil part of the mix. But it creates a very hard
film finish which rubs out beautifully. A friend did a mahogany
surface in his kitchen with it. Said he initially winced every time
someone threw down their keys on the counter, or a teenaged friend of
his children sat or leaned on it. But it still looks great. Never seen
it on SYP, but I think it tends to amber a little like BLO, so should
be very attractive.

I find that I like the look of the oil finish, though. I don't mind
having to redo it occasionally, but the mineral spirits need it a bit
too often. Perhaps I should rethink and go with something like this in a
mat or semigloss formulation. I suppose if it can be rubbed out, I could
control the amount of luster that I wanted.

DonkeyHody wrote:
eclipsme wrote:
I am making a kitchen counter top using southern yellow pine, mostly
quarter sawn. I finished a previous one with mineral oil, but it dries
out rather often and needs more coats.

I am wondering if BLO would be a workable solution for this. Though the
counter is in a kitchen, it will not be used as a cutting board, so I am
not concerned about a 'food-safe' finish. It is also not in a wet location.

If this would work, how should it be applied? I have never worked with
BLO, so would appreciate any advice.

If this is not recommended, what is?

Thanks for any help,
Harvey

Another consideration is smell. Film forming finishes like Waterlox
tend to stink until they cure and then they are pretty much odorless.
With BLO, I think your kitchen would reek of linseed oil forever.

DonkeyHody
"Friends may come and go, but enemies accumulate."

Hmm... good point. Thanks!

eclipsme wrote:

Hmm... Why not just use Tung Oil? I never seem to trust the "made
from"
mixtures. I wonder if they really add any value.

As long as you don't expect it to dry in your lifetime, go for it.

Otherwise:

A quart of BLO and a quart of Turps will be about $10-$12.

1 part BLO, 2 parts Turps, and some rags.

Have fun.

Lew

Lew Hodgett wrote:
eclipsme wrote:

Hmm... Why not just use Tung Oil? I never seem to trust the "made from"
mixtures. I wonder if they really add any value.

As long as you don't expect it to dry in your lifetime, go for it.

Otherwise:

A quart of BLO and a quart of Turps will be about $10-$12.

1 part BLO, 2 parts Turps, and some rags.

Have fun.

Lew
A previous post mentioned the smell of this. Have you found this to be
an issue?

Thanks,
Harvey

eclipsme wrote:

A previous post mentioned the smell of this. Have you found this to be
an issue?


I like the smell of turps.

Only problem is 10 minutes, smell is gone.

Lew

eclipsme wrote:

Lew Hodgett wrote:
eclipsme wrote:

Hmm... Why not just use Tung Oil? I never seem to trust the "made from"
mixtures. I wonder if they really add any value.

As long as you don't expect it to dry in your lifetime, go for it.

Otherwise:

A quart of BLO and a quart of Turps will be about $10-$12.

1 part BLO, 2 parts Turps, and some rags.

Have fun.

Lew
A previous post mentioned the smell of this. Have you found this to be
an issue?

I think both Lew and DonkeyHody are overstating just a bit to make a
point.

As DonkeyHody said, BLO will smell. I like it, but many probably
don't. And I would never do an enclosed space such as inside of a
drawer or cabinet with BLO because without circulation, the smell will
linger forever. Even with an exposed countertop, I suspect those
coming into your house would notice the smell for a month or two.

It's true that Tung takes MUCH longer to solidify than does BLO, but
it does get there. Lay out a rag that you have used to apply BLO, and
it will be stiff in a day or two. One used to apply Tung will take a
couple of weeks. On the other hand, Tung has a much more benign
"nutty" smell.

Given that you want a close-to-the-wood finish, I'd go with one of the
oil-varnish blends usually sold as "Danish Oil" to get a little more
protection than you would get from BLO or Tung.

--
Alex -- Replace "nospam" with "mail" to reply by email. Checked infrequently.

alexy wrote:
A previous post mentioned the smell of this. Have you found this to be
an issue?

I think both Lew and DonkeyHody are overstating just a bit to make a
point.


You may be right about overstating. After all, forever is a long time.
But SWMBO is extremely sensitive to smells, especially oil based
paints, varnish, etc. It isn't just that she complains, she gets
headaches, nausea, the whole nine yards. Twenty years of living with
her has certainly influenced my outlook on the smell issue. Your
mileage may vary.

DonkeyHody
"We should be careful to get out of an experience only the wisdom
that is in it - and stop there; lest we be like the cat that sits down
on a hot stove-lid. She will never sit down on a hot stove-lid
again---and that is well; but also she will never sit down on a cold
one anymore." - Mark Twain

I've finished wooden bowls with a mix of equal parts of tung oil,
turpentine, and low gloss (satin finish) polyurethane varnish. Similar to
some of the wipe on varnish finishes that you can buy. It penetrates well,
the tung oil and poly really pop the grain in the wood, and it seems to be
pretty durable, and I would imagine easy to recoat. Kind of reaping the
benefits of both the tung oil and the poly.


"eclipsme" wrote in message
.. .
I am making a kitchen counter top using southern yellow pine, mostly
quarter sawn. I finished a previous one with mineral oil, but it dries out
rather often and needs more coats.

I am wondering if BLO would be a workable solution for this. Though the
counter is in a kitchen, it will not be used as a cutting board, so I am
not concerned about a 'food-safe' finish. It is also not in a wet
location.

If this would work, how should it be applied? I have never worked with
BLO, so would appreciate any advice.

If this is not recommended, what is?

Thanks for any help,
Harvey

alexy wrote:
eclipsme wrote:

Lew Hodgett wrote:
eclipsme wrote:

Hmm... Why not just use Tung Oil? I never seem to trust the "made from"
mixtures. I wonder if they really add any value.

As long as you don't expect it to dry in your lifetime, go for it.

Otherwise:

A quart of BLO and a quart of Turps will be about $10-$12.

1 part BLO, 2 parts Turps, and some rags.

Have fun.

Lew
A previous post mentioned the smell of this. Have you found this to be
an issue?

I think both Lew and DonkeyHody are overstating just a bit to make a
point.

As DonkeyHody said, BLO will smell. I like it, but many probably
don't. And I would never do an enclosed space such as inside of a
drawer or cabinet with BLO because without circulation, the smell will
linger forever. Even with an exposed countertop, I suspect those
coming into your house would notice the smell for a month or two.

It's true that Tung takes MUCH longer to solidify than does BLO, but
it does get there. Lay out a rag that you have used to apply BLO, and
it will be stiff in a day or two. One used to apply Tung will take a
couple of weeks. On the other hand, Tung has a much more benign
"nutty" smell.

Given that you want a close-to-the-wood finish, I'd go with one of the
oil-varnish blends usually sold as "Danish Oil" to get a little more
protection than you would get from BLO or Tung.

Good advice. Thanks. I am thinking that the mineral oil I am currently
uses never solidifies, and that is the problem. That is why I keep
having to apply it and if I don't the wood starts looking dried out.

I like the idea/smell of Tung oil. Perhaps a couple of coats with that
with perhaps a follow up in a week or 2? The apartment won't be lived in
for a while yet, so it really shouldn't matter that the oil is not 'dry'
for a while.

As far as protection goes, I don't think I want to sacrifice the feel of
wood (vs film finish) for protection. After all, the opposite side of
the kitchen is a concrete counter top which, while sealed and waxed,
will inevitably show food marks and stains of various sorts. I think it
will form a nice patina over time, just as the wood counter top will too.

How do you all feel about that?

eclipsme wrote:


Good advice. Thanks. I am thinking that the mineral oil I am currently
uses never solidifies, and that is the problem. That is why I keep
having to apply it and if I don't the wood starts looking dried out.
Yes. Linseed, Tung, and Walnut oil are "drying oils", which is a bit
of a misnomer, since they don't dry out (through evaporation) so much
as solidify, thought oxidation. At least that is my understanding, but
I am not a chemist, nor do I play one on TV.

I like the idea/smell of Tung oil. Perhaps a couple of coats with that
with perhaps a follow up in a week or 2?
Traditional first coat is 50/50 mix with mineral spirits. And my SYP
bench really soaked that up. I followed the BLO workbench advice of
once a day for a week, once a week for a month, once a month for a
year, and yearly thereafter.

The apartment won't be lived in
for a while yet, so it really shouldn't matter that the oil is not 'dry'
for a while.

As far as protection goes, I don't think I want to sacrifice the feel of
wood (vs film finish) for protection.
that's why I suggested Danish oil. Don't think you would sacrifice the
feel, and would get some (though not as much as a film finish)
protection. Guess you need to identify why you want any finish at all,
then pick the finish that gives the qualities you are looking for.
--
Alex -- Replace "nospam" with "mail" to reply by email. Checked infrequently.

alexy wrote:
eclipsme wrote:


Good advice. Thanks. I am thinking that the mineral oil I am currently
uses never solidifies, and that is the problem. That is why I keep
having to apply it and if I don't the wood starts looking dried out.
Yes. Linseed, Tung, and Walnut oil are "drying oils", which is a bit
of a misnomer, since they don't dry out (through evaporation) so much
as solidify, thought oxidation. At least that is my understanding, but
I am not a chemist, nor do I play one on TV.
However I *did* stay at the holiday inn last night! (not)

I like the idea/smell of Tung oil. Perhaps a couple of coats with that
with perhaps a follow up in a week or 2?
Traditional first coat is 50/50 mix with mineral spirits.

yes, I had forgotten about this. thanks.

And my SYP
bench really soaked that up. I followed the BLO workbench advice of
once a day for a week, once a week for a month, once a month for a
year, and yearly thereafter.

And if I ever knew this, I had forgotten it, as well.

The apartment won't be lived in
for a while yet, so it really shouldn't matter that the oil is not 'dry'
for a while.

As far as protection goes, I don't think I want to sacrifice the feel of
wood (vs film finish) for protection.
that's why I suggested Danish oil. Don't think you would sacrifice the
feel, and would get some (though not as much as a film finish)
protection. Guess you need to identify why you want any finish at all,
then pick the finish that gives the qualities you are looking for.

Wow, what a great question. I think the part where you ask "at all"
through me a bit! Maybe I don't even need a finish! But then I realized
that yes, I want to enhance the depth of the wood grain, as well as slow
down and mostly stop the rapid sucking up of liquid spills, like coffee.

I think one of the 'drying' oils is the way to go for me. I will have to
consider the danish oils. I used to use Watco when I lived in California
years ago, quite extensively, but when I moved to Florida, it was not
available. The substitute I used did not work out as well. Then I seem
to recall reading that Watco had changed it's formulation and the whole
thing got dropped from my mind.

Which Danish oil would you recommend?

Thanks,
Harvey

In article ,
says...
I find that I like the look of the oil finish, though. I don't mind
having to redo it occasionally, but the mineral spirits need it a bit
too often. Perhaps I should rethink and go with something like this in a
mat or semigloss formulation. I suppose if it can be rubbed out, I could
control the amount of luster that I wanted.


If I want the oil finish look, yet want something that seals better and lasts
longer I use a mix of 1 part BLO, 2 parts gloss polyurethane and 3 parts
vegetable turpentine. Flood on, let it sink in, keep replenishing until the
timber takes no more. Wipe dry (vigorously). Repeat procedure several times.
Gives a very nice oil looking, but hardier finish especially on close grained
timber.
What's even nicer, it doesn't matter if you get some dust on it while working
with it, cause you wipe it dry after application.
Doesn't work so well on coarse grained gum, oak, mahogany type timbers if water
resistance is required cause it doesn't seal those large pores as well.
Got the receipe from Fine Woodworking some donkey's years ago.

-P.

--
=========================================
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