Greetings, I am usually over in Breaktime but thought perhaps this would be the place to pose my dilema. I am installing a maple butcher block island top for a customer. She would like something a little less “bright” than hard maple- island is under a light and rest of kitchen isa red oak and black appliances, so it does stand out. Looked at red oak, but the lead time is 5+ weeks which does not work. Any ideas on what I can do to tone down the maple, but still have it safe for food contact?. It comes with a urethane finish which a I will sand off. Owner is fine with either an oil or varnish finish, though I would push for oil given, the choice.
Thanks in advance,
John
Replies
Could you try some dyes on the underside?
John,
Try a coat of garnet shellac under your favorite oil varnish. Or BLO, garnet shellac, oil varnish. This will give the maple a nice golden brown color that looks similar to what an antique maple develops naturally.
I don't think that a traditional oil finish would be very good for a working counter top.
Rob
Edited 4/27/2007 12:06 pm ET by Rob A.
Thanks, that is something I thought of (but not the BLO). How long would the BLO have to cure before it can shellac over it?
Is it an endgrain or an edge grain butcher block?
It is an edgegrain block
Like Rob said the garnett shellac will do the trick...you can also add some transtint to it and change the hue...then slather on 400 coats of clear.
Blo usually is ready to coat over in 24 to 48 depending on conditions.
Edited 4/27/2007 5:18 pm ET by CoachB
I have a Boos Brothers end-grain island top in my kitchen (32" x 48" x 3"). I only use mineral oil on it and it keeps the color to a mid brown tone. If possible, I would recommended scrapping your idea and going this way. It looks spectacular. Also, the web site list price is more than twice what I paid from a local supplier.
Good luck,
Todd
Let me make a number of points. First, this is an edge grain cutting board style, not an end grain chopping block. There should be no problem with the existing finish having penetrated to any degree. Non-end grain maple cleans up very well by using a scraper and sandpaper if you don't want to use a chemical finish remover.
Second, it needs to be determined if the customer intends to actually cut or prepare food on the surface. If it will be used for cutting or preparing food, then a film finish is not appropriate. The film will be penetrated by the cutting and water will quickly cause the finish to lose adherence or otherwise fail. The appropriate finish for a surface that will be used for cutting is a fortified mineral oil finish. By fortified, I mean heating mineral oil and shaving slivers of paraffin into the mineral oil. This is the traditional butcher block treatment and is easily renewed from time to time.
For coloring, a water based dye stain is appropriate. Once dry and overcoated it is non-toxic as is any finish that is fully cured.
Shellac is not a good choice as a stand alone finish. Shellac does not stand up to water and standard washing and cleaning detergents. It can be used as a colorant but must be overcoated with an oil based varnish or poly varnish.
For a non-working cutting board counter, you could consider an oil/varnish mixture. Mix your own. Mix varnish, boiled linseed oil and mineral spirits in equal amounts and apply it by wiping it on heavily. Let it set for 15-30 minutes and then wipe dry. Do it again the next day and then let it set for 3-4 days. This is a finish that has some durability but is easy to renew from time to time.Howie.........
Edited 4/28/2007 11:17 am ET by HowardAcheson
Walnut oil is a drying oil that makes a nice cutting board finish. It takes on an "antique" color on maple within a few months. The shade tends toward the yellow side, which may be a deal breaker depending on the decor. I've heard it suggested that a walnut oil finish could be a problem for people with nut allergies, but don't know.
BLO is less yellow, but some BLO has additives that may not be food safe, so check first.
Food safe dye followed by a food safe finish or mineral oil would be another option.
I wouldn't use shellac in any capacity on this project. It's not tough enough by itself and even under a more durable finish like urethane it will cause the finish to fail if someone puts something hot on it.
Pete
I think we need to know what the intended use of this counter top is. If it is to be used as a cutting board then the only finish I would recommend is the mineral oil and wax mentioned earlier. Walnut oil will turn rancid as will most other natural oils.
If the counter top is going to be used for any other purpose than cutting then the shellac and oil based varnish(preferably something like Waterlox or Behlens Rockhard) finish will be fine. I don't think anyone who has a nice maple counter top is going to think it is ok to set a pan of boiling water down on it. Of course there is no way to make something idiot proof since the idiots are so damn clever.
Rob
Searching Knots for the word "rancid" turns up a zillion hits, but like a lot of internet wisdom it ain't necessarily so. Walnut oil is a "drying" oil like BLO. It forms a polymer finish. Speaking from actual experience, I've never seen it turn rancid or do anything other than dry. It is important to use 100% Walnut oil, not some of the blends found at the supermarket.Pete
Edited 4/28/2007 9:34 am ET by PeteBradley
Pete,
I went to the source (Flexner's Understanding Wood Finishing) to find a definitive answer, he states...
"Still other oils, such as walnut oil, soybean oil, and safflower oil, are semi curing: They cure very slowly and never very hard. They are only marginally effective as finishes."
Now this doesn't mean that walnut oil cannot be used in the situation we are discussing. Flexner, I believe, is talking about using it as a semi-film finish like you can with tung or boiled linseed oils. So I guess that we are both a little right.
I still stand by my recommendation to use only mineral oil and wax to treat a cutting surface. I cannot think of a situation where walnut oil would be superior to other oils. And in the situation that we are discussing I would be hesitant to use an oil that is semi-curing.
Rob
Not owning the book, I can only speak from experience. I still have a large cutting board I finished with pure walnut oil that's been in steady use for 5 years. The finish is dry and water resistant. The color took several months to fully develop as with BLO. I would concur that walnut oil is not quick-drying and if an extremely durable surface was required, it would need to be topcoated.Pete
Sorry to bear the bad news.......
If your client wanted something darker than hard maple, he/she should have chosen a wood that is darker to begin with. In this countertop application, no dye, stain, shellac, or other treatment is likely to last longer than a year or so. It will then wear off unevenly, and the client probably won't be happy.
Tell the client that they need to bite the timing issue, and get the right wood to start with.
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