OK 3 weeks ago I pulled along my garden wonder, the Garden Scoot Dennis got me last year for Christmas after my first hip surgery. From Christmas 2007 He oiled it and put a rope on the front shift so I can pull and move it easily...TOO EASY!! I yanked it into the back of my calf 3 weeks ago and grooved out a nice chunk of meat. Well, it has FINALLY been healing nicely and then the last 2 days it has been sore again. Dang thing had to be doused with Peroxide again tonight. Guess what, 2 days after 1st incident, I did ALMOST the same on the other leg...then I went and cut off a hunk of a noodle from the pool to wrap around the metal end...SIGH, Klutzo here for sure, don't even ask me about skinning my nose and ripping scratches onto my new eyeglasses while planting tomatoes!! I do love my Scoot, use it every day in the garden and Dennis uses it in the garage on his projects when he needs to sit low and get under things....Niiice! Man it sure looks clean in the picture above, hasn't looked that good since last Christmas!!

...I definitely want to avoid anything that might yellow. Then stay far, far away from any oil based products like oil/ alkyd based varnish, polyurethane, Waterlox, tung oil, 'tung oil finishes', linseed oil... Instead, use a water borne clear topcoat like General Finishes 'High Performance.' It's a water clear finish, dries very fast--you can apply multiple coats in one day. Sands very easily between coats and has UV stabilizers in the finish. In the future, to refresh the finish, just sand lightly and reapply. I'm supposing that the maple will still yellow over time but the UV stuff should help retard that process. I've been a huge fan of tung oil in the past but I am very impressed with this finish, esp. when you want to avoid the amber color that tung oil adds and, of course, the time factor in application/ multiple coats is huge. Haven't been using it long enough to know how well it wears but repairs promise to be easy. McFeeley's has the best price that I've found (plus $1.00 shipping), so I'm linking to their site. (Rockler's is another source for the product.) BTW, Christine--Famowood and/or Woodtex wood fillers readily accept oil-based stains. **I am anxious to try 'Timbermate' wood filler. Everything that I have read about it makes it sound like fabulous stuff. You might want to read up on it, too. (Oh, and FYI, Minwax products are generally crap, IMHO. :) Especially Minwax oil based stains.) Ci Here is a link that might be useful: McFeeley's

I used the 3" thick Boo's cherry countertops. I ordered them unfinished and cut them to size. and put a 3/4" roundover edge on them. Had to buy a New Makita 8 1/4" skill saw to cut 3" depth. I put 4 coats of tung oil top and bottom before installing. now I reoil maybe every 6 months or so. A note on installing. I fastened one piece the recommended way with two screws near the back in oversize holes. then I thought What's the point? if the countertop moves 1/4" it messes up the caulking. The first piece didn't seem inclined to move at all, so the second piece just got put in place with no screws. neither piece has moved a bit. It's held in place just by it's own weight and caulking to the backsplash. If I was installing lighter thinner contertop I would glue under the back edge and let the front float. Boo's cherry counter top is Steamed cherry. This darkens the color and spreads the color into the sapwood. It looks good but if you are trying to match other cherry woodwork, it looks a lot different than regular cherry. Pure tung oil is food safe. I use polymerized tung oil from Lee Valley that is thinned with paint thinner. It is not advertised as food safe but the paint thinner evaporates in a day or so. Actualy Most finishes that dry are relatively safe. There is just not enough that actualy will get into food to cause a problem unless they are made with lead or arsenic. Cherry is soft relative to maple butcher blocks. If you need to sand out digs or dings at some point, reoiling is a lot less trouble than Varnique or Waterlox.

At this point, I HIGHLY RECOMMEND you do nothing. This is a brand new finish. It will not perform to the level of the old finish for a little bit of time. An old oil finish (lets say 15 years of 'hardening') is going to be much HARDER than a fresh water based finish. You must be patient with this. Whomsoever 'let' you back in on that floor after ONE DAY is the one you need to speak with. Bona MEGA needs 10 days to reach a full cure (that means it is no longer soft enough to peel back with a fingernail). Bona Traffic HD cures in 5 days (again no longer soft enough to peel back with a fingernail). Please respect the youth that is this finish. If it took 15 years for the old finish to perform the way you say it did, you will need to allow this finish the same amount of patience for this new finish. Remember: a floor finish is a floor finish. It's chemical characteristics will not change. The laws of physics and chemistry will not change. The only part of this equation that can 'change' is the human being. Either accept the finish for what it is (super young and needing time and patience) or pay for another finish that will suit YOU.