We refinished our maple butcher block in a previous home. It wasn't hard -- just time consuming and messy since we did them on site. The messy part (sawdust everywhere) you could avoid if you can finish them prior to installation.

In our case, we used a hand rubbed water based urethane (satin finish). It creates a very hard finish similar to what you find on wood furniture. Tung oil also works well, is easier to apply and gives a more natural look. Many have recommended the Waterlox brand because it is water resistant and thus better around sinks.

We began by sanding all the old finish off and sanding away any stains etc.. We began with 100 grit and a belt sander and used a finer grit for each subsequent sanding. The final sanding we did by hand using steel wool. We then cleaned the surface very well with a tack cloth (to remove all the sawdust) and applied the finish.

The counter tops looked brand new when we finished -- except for around the sink. There was too much water damage for us to sand off completely. (The original finish was unfortunately not very water resistant).

Hope this helps.

It is really easy, you just have to be a little patient and you have to have a space that is really well ventilated. I did my ikea counters and I have never done anything like that before. I sanded with a regular sanding sponge and sand paper, nothing fancy, wiped it off with clean t shirt cloths, and then applied water lox. I did this a whole bunch of times, letting it fully dry for a day in between, until I got the look I wanted. The counters are really, really beautiful. They look like they are custom made, and not from ikea. I honestly don't think it would have been possible to mess it up!

Hi,
when I unwrapped my wood counter tops I discovered that they were factory sanded to 100 grit (wide-belt sander) which is pretty typical. It took a lot of time to get them where I wanted in terms of prep. For the ash ones, that was 180 grit, but for the maple/cherry one I sanded to 320, then used a cabinet scraper and finally 400 grit paper. The 100-grit scratches were really deep in the maple; maple is hard and it takes a lot of work to get to the bottom of the belt sander tracks.
Casey

I used the pure tung oil and citrus solvent from Real Milk Paint on both unstained and India-inked butcher block, and it came out very well, even though I have the manual dexterity of a garden slug. One bonus is that both the tung oil and the solvent clean up with water, so I really did not have to mess with anything toxic at all.

In your case, the only thing you might want to think about -- beyond the need to sand to a higher standard than the wood arrives, as Casey suggests -- is whether the look you want would be more readily produced with the original tung oil or the darker tung oil. If you email Dwayne Siever at RMP, he will probably give you some guidance.

Cheers and best of luck.

Thanks so much for the advice. I am definitely going to attempt it, but do my homework first and make sure I do it right. I can't believe the cost saving! I got a quote yesterday from another company for a finished walnut top for $2200! I can get the unfinished DIY top from Craft Art for $660!
I let you all know how it turns out. Thanks!

I forgot to mention that the edges of my tops arrived with a raw edge, from the cutoff saw and tablesaw. They required smoothing and router0ing, which I was prepared to do myself, but that's the sweat equity. I did the big ogee (with a bead/roundover on the underside) on the 1 3/4" thick maple/cherry one. Now I'm the proud owner of a $80 ogee cutter (not to mention I used my $500 router to turn it).

Hee hee to me you are speaking a different language. Your edges are gorgeous though!

Jill--I'm very curious about this because I'd like to do a walnut top on my island. I've gotten one quote so far. Yikes.

How "unfinished" is CA's unfinished? Do you know? I'm not sure I'm up for Casey's level of finishing work, but Waterloxing wouldn't be too bad.

Please let us know how this turns out for you. I might need to know your outcome in a couple of months!

I actually JUST finished helping my sister with her Craft Art "Homeowner DIY" Black Walnut countertop! The countertop came with detailed instructions (even included what I needed like what sand paper) First things first, it came pre-sanded with an "eased" edge which is softened but squared, and it already had a coat of Tung Oil on it which all the "Homeowner DIY" ones come with - yes, we called to check before the purchase! The knots had already been filled, too, so the surface was smooth and flat. Because the instructions I indentify most with are recipes, excuse the format, but here is what I did!

Prep/Active Working Time total: ~2.5 Hours
Actual Time Including dry time: 4 days

Day 1:
1. Lightly sanded with the sandpaper they recommend (20 mins)
2. Rubbed Tung Oil in grain direction (20 mins)

Dry Over Night

Days 2 and 3 and 4:
Repeat steps 1 and 2 and dry over night again.

Day 5:
Step 1. Install! (My sister's DH did their install)

They said you don't have to wait so long between coats, but it was just easier for us to do it at the end of the day after work. For you weekend warriors the total time may be less but on work days that's just how it worked out.

I watched their (Craft Art's) install video on their store website and it was more detail than we needed but was very helpful anyway.

Read the directions they include because you have to be sure and do things like rub in the grain direction and little stuff like that but this is the gist of it.

Here is a pic of it how it came "unfinished" (sorry about gross garage floor...)

Next, a close up of how the knot was when it arrived. Note the saw dust :)

This one was taken on Day 4 after the last oil but it was still a bit wet:

I hope that helps. It really is possible to do yourself. Normally I am on here begging for help, so I'm so excited to be able to give someone else some for a change!

Here is a link that might be useful: Homeowner DIY Craft Art (this page also has link to install video training)

PS. I used the finishes they recommended for simplicity sake - it was a waterproof and organic finish and their directions were based on that finish. The first two days it said to use the Waterlox "Sealer/Finish" then the next two applications were a mixture of their Waterlox "Sealer/Finish" and the Waterlox "Satin Finish." The exact way to do it is in the page of instructions the top comes with. We got it at the same time we ordered the top.

Here is a link that might be useful: Easy DIY Finish for Craft Art top

Sarahhomeremodel, which black walnut is that--plank, rustic, edge? Do you know?

Thought I'd check this posting again before I went to the gym - good thing I did!

It's Black Walnut Plank Style Homeowner DIY from Craft Art.Sorry I forgot to include that.

Basically my whole family has used these tops now in various ways. I have Craft Arts custom tops for my kitchen preimeter because I wanted a custom shape, undermount sink cut out and for my entire perimeter to be done and all that jazz. My grandmother is looking at their custom countertops now for her island through my K&B dealer because she loves their Reclaimed Beech - I showed her my sample that I bought online and she literally stole it. She is almost 90 and insists her granite on the island looks like "someone spilled cat food on it." Haha needless to say, she's a woman that knows what she wants!

Here is a link that might be useful: Here is a link to their DIY homeowner stuff

Thanks! And is that the basic thickness or did you go up any?

Sarah!! What great info! And the top looks beautiful. Now I must go contact them and get a quote for my island top unfinished. Those directions are easy enough for me to do. I'm so excited! Thank you, thank you!

My sister (it's her DIY top shown above) did the 1.75" thickness. I highly recommend that now that I've seen it, too. Since she was saving so much money she figured she'd upgrade the thickness. It makes her top look really substantial and like what it truly is - solid wood. (Not an immitation, I mean)

Here is a link that might be useful: Craft Art DIY countertops

Thanks again. It looks great!

You might find this helpful, too. Very detailed tutorial on finishing and installing wood countertop. They used Ikea, but the general process is the same for any.

Here is a link that might be useful: DIY stained butcher block countertops

Sarah, Thank you so much the great info! I am going to refer to your step by steps when finishing mine. I have also been wondering about what thickness to go with and was leaning towards the 1.75". Thanks for confirmation that it will look great. I am trying to decide between edge construction and plank and would love to see a few more pictures of your sister's coutertop.
Thanks again, Jill

does anyone have a picture of edge grain walnut to post?(close up would be swell!) or edge grain mahogany? thanks

There are LOTS of pictures of Craft Art's tops here. Has anyone bought one of their butcher block islands? They look nice.

Here is a link that might be useful: Craft Art Pictures

Hi there, just wanted to share our walnut island top refinishing experience. We got our 2" thick, 72" x 36" walnut top unfinished. My finish carpenter cut the piece and routed the edges. I sanded to 320 with an orbital sander, and then finished with hand sanding. Did this outside on the covered porch because it creates such a mess (red dust everwhere). Took me a couple of hours to get it where I wanted. We then moved it into the garage (to keep smell away from kids) where I applied the waterlox finish (6 days, 6 coats). Lightly sanded b/w coats 2, 4 & 5.

Directions say to get it fixed in place no later than one week after delivery to avoid warping (we did it at day 8). Make sure you do this b/c ours started to warp ever so slightly --you can only see it if you examine unerneath closely. (we live by the water and received this during a heatwave!!) I applied waterlox to all sides to further protect it from warping. After we did the underside, we flipped it and put it on boards with screws sticking out to keep it elevated while we finished the top side. It is a lot of work, but saved at least $1500 doing it myself. Here is the finished picture (we still need to do the final steel wool at the one month mark when fully cured)

(excuse the mess we are getting ready for painting). we got our top at the hardwood lumber company $900 delivered. ($150 for truck delivery), but this was for 2" thick.

PS I am a petite woman who is only slightly handy and I had help only to move the piece into place -- so if I can do it you can!! It was a little stressful because I was terrified I would ruin it -- but it came out fine. : ) Good luck and be patient.

Here is a link that might be useful: hardwood lumber company