Sandng & Oiling kitchen countertops

Muahahaha

Have a day off Friday so planning on sanding down and oiling the solid wood kitchen countertops. Just wondering what grit is recommended for this, would 120 be normal? Also my sander is one of those small handhelds (mouse sander I think its called) with a triangular front, I presume B&Q or similar would sell sandpaper to fit them?

Any other considerations, I have 1 litre of wood oil and the plan is for 2 coats with 24 hours between laying them.Should a 3rd coat of some kind of lacquer or sealant go on top, Im hoping for this job to last at least 5 years. And the sink areas, any special treatment needed there.

Also I have one spot on the countertop that has a small blob of blue paint I want to get out, if two rounds of sanding doesnt remove it what should be the plan then. I dont know how deep it goes so maybe there is a wood dye or something i could use to cover it up.

Sleepy

Depending on how bad they currently are you're probably going to need to start at 80 grit, then follow up with 120 and finish with 180/220 . A mouse sander will do the job but you're going to get through a lot of sandpaper so be ready to buy quite a bit of it... B&Q and any decent hardware store will have sandpaper to fit.

Again, depending on the wood oil you have and the level/type of use the countertops get but I'm sorry to tell you that 5 years is extremely optimistic for any finish on a solid wood kitchen counter-tops... I end up re-doing ours every 2 years or so. Osmo Polyx Oil is the gold standard for finishes but, fair warning, it's over €100 a can. In all honesty, I regret not finding the extra cash for quartz counter-tops when we did the kitchen, solid wood really isn't all that suitable a material for the purpose.

The blue paint stain will likely come off with the first stage of sanding.

Muahahaha

Thanks Sleepy, will swing by B&Q tomorrow and stock up on those grits. The oil I have is Ikeas own brand wood oil as thats where the counter tops came from so hopefully it does the job.

With oiling is the best technique using a normal paint brush or is it dipping a cloth n the oil and spreading it that way. Like what is the objective, to get a thick layer or just a really thin one? Also between sanding and oiling is there an intermediate step or is it just a matter of hoovering up all the dust and wiping the top down with a wet j-cloth to remove all detritus, let that dry then begin oiling? My mouse sander has a hoover attachment so I'll use that but no doubt some wood dust will get left on the counter top.

And yeah would agree that solid wood countertops arent the best idea long term but they fitted my budget at the time as stone was out of reach and Im not a fan of laminates. Im kind of stuck with them now and the maintenance schedule that goes with them. They dont get heavy use so hopefully I'll get 3 years out of this job.

Sleepy

I'm in the exact same position - fitted my budget at the time and not a fan of laminates so stuck with them now!

The hoover attachment will help but realistically, when sanding anything, the dust will get everywhere so you'll want to cover up any other shelving/dressers etc. in the kitchen and a give the counter-top a thorough hoovering before applying the oil. Rather than using a wet j-cloth (as moisture will raise the wood grain), wipe the surface down with white spirit between grits and before oiling.

When oiling it you can literally pour the oil onto the counter and then rub it in with a lint free cloth. Leave it about half an hour and then wipe off any excess with a clean cloth or paper towel. The aim is to get the oil into the wood itself rather than to apply a coating layer over the top.

Muahahaha

Thanks Sleepy, that explains it perfectly. I'll use some plastic sheeting to cover shelves as well, hadnt thought about that but there will be a fair amount of dust regardless of having the hoover attached to the sander.

With the hoover would you take the filter out of it and let it the dust go straight to the chamber? Just thinking the filter could become forever clogged up with saw dust with nothing getting through it afterwards. Its a Dyson.

Muas Tenek

I would leave the filter in, with most Dysons you can remove the filter and clean with cold running water and wring out. Leave to dry before using again though.

https://www.dyson.com/support/journey/troubleshooting/Cleaning-Filters

Sleepy

Can't comment on the hoover - I use an old bag hoover for DIY stuff (Mrs Sleepy would murder me if I used her Henry for it!).

Gen.Zhukov

A wee bit OT but still relevant - I've used this stuff before on a solid oak breakfast bar top. It's a great finish. Just wondering about one of the warnings in the small print re the cloth after use - 'Danger of self-ignition' - so presumably if someone didn't read the back, finished up and threw the cloth into the bin and went out, they could burn their house down. Is this the case with all these oils?

Muahahaha

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119844485#Comment_119844485

yeah thats the same for my Dyson that I take the round filter out and wash and dry it from time to time.

But I was just wondering if leaving the filter in it is wise when dealing with saw dust, I thought I read somewhere before that saw dust can clog vacumn filters badly and it is hard to get out regardless of washing. Also I think it is the sheer quantity of it going into the hoover, its a lot more than what would be going through it from just hoovering a few rooms of carpet.

I think I might remove the filter as I cant see any harm in letting the saw dust just go direct from the mouse sander in to the chamber of the Dyson. Its like the smallest model of Dyson I have so I doubt the filter is designed for this kind of heavy use. Its really not that big, maybe 5 inches in diameter and I think sanding 4 meters of solid wood worktops 3 times could mess it up.

@Gen.Zhukov thanks for posting as my cloths would have went straight in the bin. Self ignition sounds a bit mad nonetheless.

10-10-20

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119849939#Comment_119849939

No, it does happen! But typically on hotter days where multiple rags are loaded into a bin.

NBC and CNN do great coverage on the effects 😣

Never-the-less - lay them out flat and let the dry/polymerise first.

Esel

Boiled Linseed Oil has a warning on the tin about the danger of wet rags.

RainInSummer

There's probably boiled linseed oil in the Osmo mix. It has a track record of self combusting on cotton rags.

Some modern washing powders contain Borax as a cleaning agent. It's also a handy fire retardant too, hence you don't hear about this as much these days.