Walnut Kitchen worktops...........

[Leveller2911]

Had a look through a few pages in this section but can't find much. I'm starting a kitchen next week. Its a small kitchen with painted Shaker style doors and American Black Walnut worktops. In the past I've used Danish oil but went off that and I have used the OSMO oil.

Is there a really hardwearing lacquer anyone can recommend?. It would need to be applied by brush rather than spraying. Really looking for something that gives a hard wearing finish to the worktops. Oils are ok but the worktops still mark fairly easily and I always tell the clients that timber worktops are not maintenenace free.

Any 2 pack systems that will give a hard wearing surface on top of the timber (opposed to an oil that soaks in) and can be applied by brush or roller?.

[JonR]

http://www.axminster.co.uk/chestnut-mel ... er-ax21182

my boy has used this over there sanding sealer on some birch ply units using a roller, it dry's real quick so maybe not the best over a large flat surface but ok if you roll real quick, you do get a hard durable finish with it though.

Maybe a bar top finish like this

http://www.mylands.co.uk/no-4-woodbrush ... quer-gloss

[MJ80]

Have you been using the OSMO worktop oil?

[Leveller2911]

Have you been using the OSMO worktop oil?

Hi, yes I've used OSMO worktop oil and its ok but it still doesn't stop the worktop from scratching quite easily. I'm looking for the holy grail I guess.. Its the same problem with all the different oils ,from Danish to Osmo they all feed the timber nicely but don't stand up to use very well. I'm really looking for something that will form a hardwearing surface on top of the timber.

I've done lots of kitchens etc with timber worktops but timber worktops just don't seem to be a good idea to me. The more I do the more I'm thinking I need to use something different.

Most of my Customers now want a cooks kitchen , something practical,plain,functional rather than something that looks like its off the front cover of Vogue magazine (which do look lovely btw) . But they still want timber worktops and I'm not sure the both are compitable. People don't want to have to worry about scratching a worktop when putting down a cup of tea etc.

[Leveller2911]

http://www.axminster.co.uk/chestnut-melamine-gloss-lacquer-ax21182

my boy has used this over there sanding sealer on some birch ply units using a roller, it dry's real quick so maybe not the best over a large flat surface but ok if you roll real quick, you do get a hard durable finish with it though.

Maybe a bar top finish like this

http://www.mylands.co.uk/no-4-woodbrush ... quer-gloss

Cheers Jon, I will look into those and maybe do a sample or two........

[Jonathan]

Seem's like oil is off the menu, but have you tried tung oil? l love the stuff. (It does require time to dry )
Went off bar top lacker, when using it makes my nose bleed. We used it a lot about 15 year's ago but found you needed to re coat every 6 months.

As I don't live in UK don't know if Dulux still do diamond glaze? it was hard wearing and brushed on lovely, was water based so didn't send light coloured timbers a silly colour.

Mate of mine does nothing but kitchen's, he refuses to put wooden tops in a kitchen, maybe he's sensible. I love wooden tops, once done my bath with a teak top, looked good but was a nightmare to maintain.

sorry I'm rambling......

[Leveller2911]

Seem's like oil is off the menu, but have you tried tung oil? l love the stuff. (It does require time to dry )
Went off bar top lacker, when using it makes my nose bleed. We used it a lot about 15 year's ago but found you needed to re coat every 6 months.

As I don't live in UK don't know if Dulux still do diamond glaze? it was hard wearing and brushed on lovely, was water based so didn't send light coloured timbers a silly colour.

Mate of mine does nothing but kitchen's, he refuses to put wooden tops in a kitchen, maybe he's sensible. I love wooden tops, once done my bath with a teak top, looked good but was a nightmare to maintain.

sorry I'm rambling......

No worries Jonathan, always good to hear the views. I use to use diamond glaze and it was good stuff but never used it on worktops.

[york33]

Have you been using the OSMO worktop oil?

Hi, yes I've used OSMO worktop oil and its ok but it still doesn't stop the worktop from scratching quite easily. I'm looking for the holy grail I guess.. Its the same problem with all the different oils ,from Danish to Osmo they all feed the timber nicely but don't stand up to use very well. I'm really looking for something that will form a hardwearing surface on top of the timber.

I've done lots of kitchens etc with timber worktops but timber worktops just don't seem to be a good idea to me. The more I do the more I'm thinking I need to use something different.

Most of my Customers now want a cooks kitchen , something practical,plain,functional rather than something that looks like its off the front cover of Vogue magazine (which do look lovely btw) . But they still want timber worktops and I'm not sure the both are compitable. People don't want to have to worry about scratching a worktop when putting down a cup of tea etc.

I have the same dilemma with Walnut dining tables (they seem more prone than Oak), I've been using Osmo, lately with that Osmo wood protector under the topcoat, which I think has helped.

Though I do like the finish, the last couple I've done with a matt AC lacquer and am leaning towards that, most of my customers prefer less maintenance.......

[Roger-M]

Not much I can add to this one, but that Mylands Bar Top finish looks like interesting stuff, and possibly easier to use than (say) Rustins Plastic coating. Anyone have any practical experience with it? For instance, is it very yellowing of pale woods like ash or maple? I'm thinking of it for a bombproof finish for a kitchen table, so possibly relevant for wooden worktops?

[Meccarroll]

Not much I can add to this one, but that Mylands Bar Top finish looks like interesting stuff, and possibly easier to use than (say) Rustins Plastic coating. Anyone have any practical experience with it? For instance, is it very yellowing of pale woods like ash or maple? I'm thinking of it for a bombproof finish for a kitchen table, so possibly relevant for wooden worktops?

I have used Rustins Plastic Coating on coffee tables and they have lasted very well...... wood worktops are a different kettle of fish but Rustins plastic coating could be used on a worktop. If a wood worktop is fit then logic dictates that you have to expect the corresponding maintenance that goes with it or choose something else. Oils may need to be re-applied at regular intervals but this is something a client can do relatively easily so oils are practical.

Mark

[woodsmith]

I've used Plastic Coat which was good until it somehow got dinged and ultimately I had to sand it off and completely refinish it. I have used Osmo worktop oil on my own oak worktop in the utility and it has faired reasonably well, I used Osmo top oil to refinish a customers island which had been hard finished with some sort of varnish and not fared well. I left them with half a can of Osmo top oil and instructions to apply it regularly and when I saw them maybe two years later they said the worktop was still perfect. I've tried an epoxy finish which I was given as a sample from a boat chandlers and this was tough but ultimately got damaged enough to let water through and it has gone black underneath (it was on oak).

So I tend to use Top oil but my favourite finish is a 50/50 mix of oil based polyurethane varnish and Danish oil starting with a very thin coat, diluted with pure turpentine, to soak into the wood, and then another 5-6 coats of increasingly less thinned finish. I think this is probably the most durable finish, and repairable, but is very time consuming to apply as you need to leave it so long between coats.

[Neil_C]

I have used Liberon Kitchen & Bathroom Varnish for all of my tables and they have stood up really well. It works well on ash.

I much prefer it to the Plastic Coating, as I feel that can colour the lighter woods.

The web site says that it is ideal for kitchen work surfaces.

I put three, or four, coats on by hand with about a thirty minute drying time between coats.

If you were nearer Nottingham, I'd suggest that you have a look at a piece of ash that I have with about six different finishes. Unfortunately, it's not the sort of thing that would show the detail in a photograph.

HTH.