'Real' butcher block finish - would Waterlox work?

14 years ago

I have a very old, "real" butcher block table in my kitchen. By "real" I mean not strips of wood glued together - this thing is a big 3" thick slab out of a tree! It came with the house and is about 14" wide by about 7 ft long. There are deep, deep knife cuts in it - which we like and do not want to lose.

Many of you have mentioned Waterlox and I am wondering if this would be an appropriate product to use to "freshen up" the finish a bit. I had a planter on it and the moisture seeped through onto the table, damaging the finish. I'm looking for a way to even it out without destroying the patina. If this isn't appropriate, any suggestions of a product that might work well?

Should I sand it at all or just apply something new over the existing finish? (I don't know what the existing finish is.)

By the way, we do not use this surface for food preparation.

Thanks for your help.

Featured Answer

growlery

14 years ago

Don't waterlox it!

Use butcher's wax, or oil it. Once you waterlox or anything like that, you're stuck with it, because it penetrates.

You only need to wax once a year. Oil it as needed -- mineral oil so it won't go rancid. You can even oil first, then wax, if you try one and it doesn't do it for you.

You may want to sand the damaged portion a bit if it got spongy. (It's OK. It's part of its history.) You want to make sure it's well dried out and you're not waxing over any rotten spots.

I hope it gives you decades more pleasure!

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Comments (11)

writersblock (9b/10a)
14 years ago
I would use waterlox in a heartbeat on counters, but I don't think I'd want to put a permanent finish on what you have. I'd use wax or oil instead.
eandhl
14 years ago
Being an old one you have no idea of what has been used on it. If anyone ever used one of the oil/beeswax (or any other wax) combo's Waterlox company says it will not work. Keep using oil if you use it for food prep, let the patina of an antique show.
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Waterlox should be fine, from what I've read here, as long as you're not cutting into it. That's what I'm putting on my island. You need to use the Original Sealer first. You can use just that, but after a few coats, it starts to get shiny. If you want the more matte, satin finish, use 2 coats of the Original, then use the Satin. For our interior woodwork, I brushes on 2 coats of the original, brushed on one coat of the Satin, then handrubbed the last coat of Satin. For the island I think I'll do more of the Satin since it'll get more abuse and more exposure to water than the woodwork. Mondragon did a table with Waterlox. He started with a few coats of tung oil, so the protection really soaked in, then handrubbed the Waterlox over it. If you want to see that described, go to 'my page', then 'my clippings' and scroll down to the post. It has a photo of his table.
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Thanks for all of your input. I've discovered what was in the container that came along with my countertop - mineral oil. Which explains why the countertops have not performed up to my expectations. After talking to my contractor and the fabricator, I believe the breakdown in communication was with the office staff of the contractor who actually placed the order for the top. They did not specify a waterlox finish that I had emphatically requested. So...my contractor has agreed to refinish the tops himself with waterlox. During this discovery process, I talked to the man who owns the company that made my countertops. He said the process to re-do the finish would be to go over the wood with mineral spirits a couple of times to draw out the oil as much as possible (I have not added any more oil). Go over the wood with a fine grit sandpaper to smooth the roughness and then proceed with the waterlox application. One coat per day. Can anyone who has experience with this process give me advice? Will these steps be enough to get a professional finish on the tops? I am disappointed that I will not be able to finish the undersides of the counters because they are already bolted down to the cabinets. I am afraid that may cause problems down the road. Any input from experienced users of waterlox would be greatly appreciated!!
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Little late to the rodeo here, and I guess you got the butcher block finished already. When I installed kitchens, we used a product called "Good Stuff" that Bally block recommended . It was kinda an oil based paste that you rubbed in then buffed off. Several coats provided a nice matte finish. Cant attest for how long the finish lasts, but I've never got a call back to re apply.
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hawklox
14 years ago
As long as the top is wax free, Waterlox will work just fine. I also have a 40+ year old BB table that I refinished with Waterlox and people comment on it all the time. We left all the old "distressed" marks just like you wish to. I knew mine did not have wax, (it was my fathers since new), so all we did was clean it real well with soap and water and then applied Waterlox directly on the old surface. If you suspect wax then just clean it real well with an ammonia/water solution and that should take off the old wax. The problem with some of the other non Waterlox remedies mentioned above is that the table will still be sensitive to water/moisture whereas Waterlox applied correctly will be just about waterproof. Chronic water exposure wold still be a potential problem but not casual exposure. If you would like to discuss this further, please call us at the factory to discuss. 800.321.0377
allison0704
14 years ago
We finished our antique pine island with Good Stuff for Wood. The link below talks about other finishes also.

Here is a link that might be useful: Good Stuff for Wood
growlery
14 years ago
Just FYI, I googled the number "hawklox" provided.

It's the number for Waterlox Coatings Corporation, Cleavland, OH.

I don't exactly love that "hawklox" (despite mentioning the factory in the last sentence) essentially bills herself as a "civilian" user.
plants4
14 years ago
take a look at what I just posted under "food-safe wood treatments, some information to look at." There are some ideas there.
h2olox
14 years ago
FYI, hawklox (now h2olox)is indeed Waterlox Coatings. We did not post intending to offend but simply to inform. We monitor forums and blogs and attempt to clear up any inconsistancies or questions regarding our products. Waterlox is a resin modified tung oil based varnish and thus it penetrates and builds up to a film thereby locking out the moisture. In fact the origin of our name came from an old ad slogan which stated "Locks out water, the key to your surface protection". Other finishes for countertops or butcher blocks may not react well to water, thus our reply. We leave our number so that anyone having further questions may contact us.
growlery
14 years ago
Look, I'm not the forum police here, but if you are representing your company, (as your use of the third person indicates) identify yourself in your posting using your company name, so people at least know the source of their information. Better yet, identify yourself, if you are representing your company on this forum.

Those are the terms of service: stick to them, you can hang around and "clear up questions".

There are business owners who are valued members of the community here.

You're dangerously close to quacking like a flack for my tastes though. And your membership can be terminated for violating TOS for doing things like quoting "old" ads. Not subtle.
eandhl
14 years ago
Interesting when we were looking for all natural floor finishes I called the Waterlox Company and was told just the opposite of what hawklox (now h2olox) is saying. They said if any wax has penetrated the wood you can not clean it well enouch and would be disappointed as waterlox will not adhere and could start pealing.
Micahweeks_rocketmail_com
12 years ago
I am a woodworker and I use waterlox often and love it. One thing tha I didn't see mentioned here is just how easy it is to remove any wax.... Mineral spirits and steel wool will lift it right out, or in the case of a food prep area maybe a citrus thinner. Then just rub in the waterlox and wipe it off, (several thin coats is better than a few thick ones.) and no waterlox will not peel... Ever, that's absurd it gies into the wood, not on top like a urethane finish, just be sure to wipe off any excess oil while it is still wet.
That being said waterlox is by no means foodsafe, so the price should not be used as a cutting board.... If you plan to cut on it stick with mineral oil or butchers wax.

'Real' butcher block finish - would Waterlox work?

growlery

Comments (11)

writersblock (9b/10a)

eandhl

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