kitchen countertop finishing question

There are food save finishes available. Mr. Google will help you there.

I’ve also heard people use mineral oil and beeswax.

-- Everything is a prototype thats why its one of a kind!!

Just about any finish is food safe once it’s cured. If you want a durable, attractive, easy-to-apply finish, it’s hard to beat wipe-on poly. You can get it in satin, and just keep adding coats until you get your desired surface.

It’ll be a few weeks before it’s cured to the point where you can’t detect any odor.

Oils and wax are not going to be durable in the long run.

-- Knowledge is not skill. Knowledge plus ten thousand times is skill. -- Shinichi Suzuki

I agree with Rich

rich, thanks for the info.. the ‘wipe on poly”, does it have that real shiny finish when its complete? the girls dont like that thick shiny finish, also do you have a brand you like?.. thanks for the info!

RWE, i am aware google has that info, almost 5 million pages in .02 seconds.. but i like forums since i can give detailed questions and get specific answers

thanks again!

You can get poly in different sheens, gloss, satin and I think there is even a matte available. The higher gloss is more durable because it has more of the hardening agent in it so what I did on my floors was several coats of the gloss for durability then a couple coats of satin on top to knock the shininess down. But for countertops you could go all matte and be fine, no feet stomping around on it and all… The wipe on poly has more of a satin look to it as well, definitely nothing like the high gloss epoxy bar top coatings and restaurant tables.

-- Jarrett - Mount Vernon, Ohio

For whats is worth I am, as we speak, finishing up some Walnut counter tops, and I will be doing as smitdog said, I am going with base coats of gloss and then finish in satin, I am using Arm R Seal .

rich, thanks for the info.. the wipe on poly”, does it have that real shiny finish when its complete? the girls dont like that thick shiny finish, also do you have a brand you like?.. thanks for the info!

- platinumaa

You can get wipe-on poly in gloss or satin. You said they didn’t want a shiny surface in your original post, so that’s why I mentioned satin in my reply.

-- Knowledge is not skill. Knowledge plus ten thousand times is skill. -- Shinichi Suzuki

perfect, thank you everyone for the knowledge.. i appreciate it!

Agree on the Arm-r-seal. I built walnut counters and initially used Waterlox but it scratches way too easy. Top coated with arm-r-seal and it is much more durable.

You guys must be messing with the OP. What kind of fool would put a polyurethane on a kitchen countertop that is subject to standing water, oils, cleaning supplies, some hard actions from utensils, hot frying pans and pots, etc etc.
Countertops must be finished with oils and other non-curing finishes and reapplied regularly.

What kind of fool would put a polyurethane on a kitchen countertop that is subject to standing water, oils, cleaning supplies, some hard actions from utensils, hot frying pans and pots, etc etc.
Countertops must be finished with oils and other non-curing finishes and reapplied regularly.

- Carloz

What kind of fool thinks that any topcoat for a wooden countertop would resist damage from a hot frying pan?

-- Knowledge is not skill. Knowledge plus ten thousand times is skill. -- Shinichi Suzuki

What kind of fool would put a polyurethane on a kitchen countertop that is subject to standing water, oils, cleaning supplies, some hard actions from utensils, hot frying pans and pots, etc etc.
- Carloz

Yeah… that polyurethane stuff is only good for floors where it won’t see any abuse :)

Cheers,
Brad

-- Brad in FL - In Dog I trust... everything else is questionable

Platinumaa,

Evidently your daughters have differing tastes and I am sure you want to keep piece in the family. I assume the butcher block countertops will require some trimming to fit. If so, a couple of offcuts could be used as sample boards. Various stains and finishes could then be applied along the length of the offcuts. Perhaps among the array of choices displayed on the offcuts to which the test finishes were applied, your daughters could settle on a look that they both like. Hopefully whatever they decide, the final look of the installed countertops will work well with the woods and color tones in the rest of the kitchen.

You guys must be messing with the OP. What kind of fool would put a polyurethane on a kitchen countertop that is subject to standing water, oils, cleaning supplies, some hard actions from utensils, hot frying pans and pots, etc etc.
Countertops must be finished with oils and other non-curing finishes and reapplied regularly.

- Carloz

Sounds like you really abuse your counter tops, I never did any of that to laminate or quartz.