Since everyone is chiming in with their favorite wood sealers, I'd like to plug Skidmore's Beeswax wood products -- the wood sealers and the conditioning cream are great. I know the maker, Vince Skidmore, who is a woodworker himself, and he hand-produces all of the products from beeswax and natural resins and pine-based turpentine. The sealer is tough enough for exterior treatments, and the conditioning cream doubles as both a wood and leather restorer. (He sells the same product under leather and wood product labels.) Knew him back when he was producing in Wyoming, now he's moved the business to Port Townsend, WA. We'll be refinishing recycled bowling lane into kitchen counters, and I'm looking forward to using his stuff on raw wood from scratch for the first time (previously we've just used Skidmore's when restoring old, finished wood surfaces). FYI, I don't work for Vince, just love his products! Good luck, and have fun! Here is a link that might be useful: Skidmore's Fine Beeswax Products

Thanks for all the input. I wanted to love the leathered granite. I took a sample that was actually pretty dark but it did have lighter areas and tested it. I let some wine sit on it for 2 hours then rinsed and scrubbed it - but you could still see a significant stain from the wine. That just doesn't fit with our lifestyle - a family of four, nightly scratch meals, and two messy kids who are just getting started with cooking in the kitchen. Our children are getting bigger and we're outgrowing this small home. We really have to consider re-sale as likely within the next 3-5 years. I could live with my own countertop patina, but I don't think anyone wants to buy someone else's patina, unless it's an ancient British seaside cottage or something. The condo market here is pretty unfavourable so the granite has to be a selling point, not a minus. Based on my tests and reading, polished granite is the most chip-resistant and stain-resistant natural stone so that is what we have chosen. Dh was not open to considering engineered stone. The granite I've picked (White River) is a true granite, from my understanding. It is not another stone that is being marketed as granite (like dolomite, marble, etc.) - it is not calcareous and should not etch with acids (and didn't in my tests). I've left the sample lying around during renovations, etc. and it is holding up very well. I actually have researched countertop choices to death and I think I'm making an informed decision. Wax was just an idea to make the surface more pleasing to me. Like I said before, I can live with the polished finish even though I adore the leathered/honed finishes. Gr8day, thanks for sharing your experience with actually using wax on granite :) . I have read about people using wax to get their old granite counters more shiny and that's what gave me the idea to use a different kind of wax to make counters less shiny.

I use Clapham's. I got tired of constantly touching up the mineral oil in the first month. Plus it always felt oily. With the Clapham's, in the first two to four months, you may need to re-apply every three to four weeks. After that it becomes very easy. Just save the rag in a zip lock bag. I used up a whole container already, so I just use the old container to store my rag. Then when you need a touch up, just pull out the rag. There's no need for mineral oil at all. I buff it with my bare hands. Last week, my wife left my silicone baking mats on the counter. When I took them off the counter, they left a rectangle where it sucked up the finish. So I pulled out the saved rag. It was already saturated, so I didn't need to dip into the wax. I just rubbed using a circular motion until the patina was restored. Then I gave it a final buff with my bare hands and it was like the patina was always there. Rubber small appliance feet will also remove the patina. I use Lysol kitchen spray as well as those kitchen wipes and they do not affect the patina. Dish soap, on the other hand, will do a number on the patina. The area around the base of the faucet and soap dispenser needs more frequent attention. I also use the Clapham's on my wood cutting board and chopping block, so it also has other uses around the house.

I like either color, but wonder how the black will look with a darker wood top - white might be better? Use caution when staining wood that will come in contact with food. You may be interested in what this woman did - she darkened the butcher block with beeswax and oil mixture. The color may work with you cabinets. Butcher block counter