Varnishing Oiled Wood

Tester46

Hi,

I have mahogany (iroko) kitchen counter tops which are oiled with Danish Oil. They look great, but the areas which get a lot of splashing - beside the cooker and the draining areas beside the sink - get easily stained with water, food and cooking oil.

How would I go about varnishing these areas given they are already oiled? Is there a good varnish which would work and wouldn't be too obviously varnished next to the oiled areas?

Thanks!

jack of all

If you varnished the counter (assuming you could remove all oil residues to begin with) you would eventually find that the varnish would age very poorly- cracking, chipping and yellowing with use. Once this starts the constant wetting etc encountered during normal use would quickly lead to discolouration and lifting of the finish where water gets in under the finish. Food safety would also be a concern. Oiled hardwood counters are a particular finish and will weather and age with use and time; if you don't like this look you may have to consider a more suitable alternative for you (Corian, stone, glass or other more durable materials which require less maintenance).

Tester46

jack of all wrote: »

If you varnished the counter (assuming you could remove all oil residues to begin with) you would eventually find that the varnish would age very poorly- cracking, chipping and yellowing with use. Once this starts the constant wetting etc encountered during normal use would quickly lead to discolouration and lifting of the finish where water gets in under the finish. Food safety would also be a concern. Oiled hardwood counters are a particular finish and will weather and age with use and time; if you don't like this look you may have to consider a more suitable alternative for you (Corian, stone, glass or other more durable materials which require less maintenance).

Thanks Jack of all. Don't get me wrong, I love the look of the oiled wood. I specified oiled wood from day 1 because it looks fantastic. There is a beautiful matt/satin sheen from the wood which I have never seen with varnish and it really shows the grain and colour of the wood. The wood is quite new and was oiled again last week (that's three or four coats in all).

My issue is more that I am worried I will be damaging the wood over time. What I mean is:

Draining Board - this obviously gets wet with draining dishes, pots, etc. Some water drains away and some sits on the draining board. After even a few weeks, black stains are appearing in the wood. I can only imagine those black stains would spread and get worse over time.

Beside Cooker - this area get splashed with hot cooking oil, bits of food etc. Even after I wipe it away, there are stains left behind. Again, I'd be worried that over time, this area of the countertop will be just one big stain!

Should I just accept the stains, or is there a way to protect the wood better? How often should I re-oil the wood - every 6 months, 12 months?

jack of all

I don't have hardwood counter tops myself but I imagine that for new wood (as with any oiled wood finish) you will need up to 5 or 6 coats of oil to begin with, followed up by maintenance oiling as required (certain intensive use areas will require regular treatment other areas can probably be left without treatment for some time). When I use oil finishes on wood (tools, furniture etc) I would use an abrasive scouring pad to apply the oil- this removes the "skin" of oil oil which remains from the last treatment whilst allowing the fresh oil to be actively worked into the grain. The use of a standard green (nylon I think) pot scourer (not steel though!) will lift any mould or staining whilst leaving a good film of fresh oil behind. Work with the grain, in parallel strokes to avoid scratching the wood surface (do not swirl or rub in a circular fashion). If your counters are Iroko you should have many years of service from them, even if your oiling regime is not over zealous! Hope this helps.

Tester46

jack of all wrote: »

I don't have hardwood counter tops myself but I imagine that for new wood (as with any oiled wood finish) you will need up to 5 or 6 coats of oil to begin with, followed up by maintenance oiling as required (certain intensive use areas will require regular treatment other areas can probably be left without treatment for some time). When I use oil finishes on wood (tools, furniture etc) I would use an abrasive scouring pad to apply the oil- this removes the "skin" of oil oil which remains from the last treatment whilst allowing the fresh oil to be actively worked into the grain. The use of a standard green (nylon I think) pot scourer (not steel though!) will lift any mould or staining whilst leaving a good film of fresh oil behind. Work with the grain, in parallel strokes to avoid scratching the wood surface (do not swirl or rub in a circular fashion). If your counters are Iroko you should have many years of service from them, even if your oiling regime is not over zealous! Hope this helps.

Thanks, advice is much appreciated! When you say regular oiling and maintenance oiling, how regularly do you mean? Would you say every 12 months for lightly used areas and every 6 months for heavier use areas (and maybe even more often for the areas I mentioned like the draining board and the cooker)?

When applying, do you mean dip the nylon pot scourer in danish oil and apply it in single strokes, all in the same direction and all with the grain? Thanks.

jack of all

I didn't think Danish oil is recommended for worktops, shouldn't a food grade oil be used, so as not to taint food etc? I use an olive oil/ veggie oil mix on the small beech chopping board insert in my kitchen. Others can advise here I hope. As for oiling itself, I'd say a good oiling every year for starters with periodic treatment when the wood needs it (you'll know by the look and feel of the wood). Don't get hung up on this though, Iroko is a durable wood and if cared for at all should perform well. Apply oil to the wood or scourer, whichever you like, and rub in along the grain, stroking in back and forth with reasonable downward pressure. Allow the oil to soak in and become "dry". Then lightly rub down again with another (cleaner) scourer to remove any gloss and leave a nice sheen (this denibs, removing any bits, hair, dust etc). Google for advise on what oil you should be using though, I wouldn't like to steer you wrong either way. If the counters are dry and resonably clean this whole operation should take too long...

Hootanany

Dont let water lie on the counter top for to long , get in to the habit of wiping excess water off quickly, Oil about twice a year little rub of 0000 steel wool and apply coat of Finishing Oil and it will be dry in the morning

jack of all

Steel wool is great but when it breaks down into loose fibres these can lodge in the surface of the wood and cause minor rust stains later if they get wet. For my money I prefer the nylon scourer, cheap and easier on the hands too.

Tester46

Thanks all.

When you say nylon scourer, do you mean this:



or this:



or this (in nylon):

jack of all

Either of the first two; I normally buy the cheap scourer/ sponges in Lidl and just cut off the scouring part for use when oiling etc.

D.Craftsman

Hi Tester.I have only now seen your post.There has been some good advice.Let me add a few points.Iroko is a tropical hard wood,similar to Teak but not oily.The biggest mistake people make is that hard woods are not good for oil finishing as they oil does not penetrate well into the close grain.I can hear the shouts now.It will work but require maintenance.A lot of maintenance.The more coats you apply before use the better the life between.I have applied 15 coats before use.Even then I have told the client that I cannot guarentee the finish.The best water repellent is in fact a yacht varnish but this can be too glossy.To put a frame on it, how many boats get an oil finish?In short water and wood do not mix well.Try to contact a varnish supplier, F.T Morrell would be good, for some hard advice.

Stanirish

New finish in Ireland, I think it may be worth your while looking at this site http://www.woodoc.com/ - go to the link for Ireland, and give Val a ring, as he should have a distributor / retailer in Dublin - product has got some very good reports from woodturners etc. If you have problems getting it, drop me a mail on whraitt@indigo.ie, and I get some to you. Hope this is of help:)

slowburner

I have found this recipe to work well with Iroko. Boiled Linseed oil,Polyurethane varnish (yacht varnish) and Methylated spirits or white spirits. In equal measures, approximately.
Just rub in with a clean, lint free cotton rag. Allow to sit for about four hours and then wipe off any residue. It will darken the timber but it's a resilient finish. Re-apply whenever you think the wood needs it.
For food surfaces such as chopping boards and so on, you can use liquid paraffin which you can get from any chemist. It's normally used to speed up slow digestive transit! Ordinary vegetable oils can go rancid and taint the flavour of whatever is cut on the wood.
Hope this is useful to you,

stairs

I don't think you can apply any finish over the oiled wood. You have to sand down the wood, clean it out form all the oil and then you can apply finish, that will be more durable and will not take the water stains. I have done couple of jobs repairing hardwood floors that have been oild or waxed and I think the best way to fix it is to sand down and reapply.

If you want to do just a temporary fix you can just clean the counter top with water, wait antill is dry and oil the whole counter top .

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