Beeswax and mineral oil is what I have used on soapstone items. It's solid at room temp, you have to warm it slightly to apply. You can make it up yourself.

HTH,

L.

On walnuts: when my son was young he was allergic to peanuts, they gave him hives. One Christmas season I was cracking walnuts while he was sitting on the other side of the peninsula and he began wheezing as I was cracking. The wheezing wasn't new, he had asthma, but the direct cause that time was the walnuts. The good news is that he outgrew his allergies to peanuts, eggs, and corn by the time he was 7. (The egg allergy was keeping him from getting some immunizations, which was a pain for school purposes, so the allergist sent out blood tests and when they came back clear he vaccinated the kid. He made us stay in the office for 3 hours, but all was well.)

My point is that I think you're wise to avoid a walnut based product under the circumstances.

I use bee's oil and I love that it gives a sheen without the greasy feel. It's a very soft solid that I just smear and polish my soapstone countertops with. I've never used wax, but this product works very well for me.

liriodendron and dragonfly08: I've seen other people do the same thing (bee's wax or bee's oil). How long do each of you need to re-apply to keep the dark look?

suzannesl: sounds like we've had similar experiences. We've had the egg in the flu vaccaine problem too where we stayed for observation after the shot. Glad your son outgrew those allergies. Our daughter is 9 so I don't think we'll be so lucky. We haven't had a cracking walnut episode like you but we messed up on ice cream one time (didn't check ingredients). She took one spoonful and said her throat didn't feel right. Sure enough, it had nuts so off we went (we keep an EpiPen too if needed).

dryslick: my son was lucky that he outgrew the food allergies, especially corn products which are in everything. My brother, now in his later 60s, wasn't so lucky on the peanut front. He says he knows the minute a nut hits his tongue and even spitting and rinsing doesn't undo it. He once had a bear claw from a bakery with sliced almonds on top; they swore there were no peanuts. Anaphlyaxis would suggest otherwise. It seems they didn't thoroughly clean out the nut slicer between the peanuts and the almonds. Keep that epi pen handy.

I don't think I can offer much help as our soapstone countertop is still relatively new (3 months) and I haven't been very diligent on keeping it oiled. In the beginning, I was oiling it every few days if I remembered (it's hard with little kids), but mostly, the night before if we were expecting guests or having a gathering of some sort.

It's my understanding (and I may be wrong) that on new stones, you may need to oil it more frequently to maintain the dark look. Once it's "broken in", you only need to oil it every few weeks.

I think you can google the web or search GW... I believe I've seen the answer somewhere on a soapstone post.

I use a beeswax/mineral oil mix on my copper countertops that I purchased on eBay, on the advice of someone on this forum who has soapstone. You can get small to large sizes.

Here is a link that might be useful: Beeswax & mineral oil, food-safe

Oh, and it's specifically free of nut oils (read the customer reviews on the auction page). Happy waxing!

What a great question! I do not have any experience with this material, but when we buy our next house i'll have to add it to the list of things to watch out for. I have peanut and tree nut allergies, and it would be horrible to move in only to find out our counters were saturated with nut oils!