Majjie's Blog

There are two reasons for you to read this blog. The first is that you have, or intend to get, solid wood worktops and you want to know how to look after them; the second is that you want to know what would be involved, in looking after solid wood, before you decide on what sort of worktops to have.

If you don't fit into either category ... then I'd probably give this one a miss ... it's not going to be the most scintillating read you'll ever come across.

Part 1 of this series of blogs, talked about types of wood worktops and prices ... and there will be a Part 3, which will talk about environmental issues (but I haven't written it yet - still collecting info).

So, exactly how difficult is it - to look after solid wood worktops? Well, before getting down to that, I probably need to say a bit about how the worktops should be treated before and during fitting. How the worktops are treated, before they get to be a permanent fixture in your kitchen, is very important in ensuring that they have a long and happy life. If they're not treated well, then you don't stand much chance of keeping them looking good. If you've got a good fitter who is very familiar with fitting timber worktops (and you're sure about that) then you can skip this first section.

A. Before and During Fitting

Here's a list of dos and don'ts:

• don't prop the worktops up against a wall ... always store them flat and use batons to allow air circulation between each piece


• don't store them anywhere cold and moist - like a garage - store them where they're going to be fitted, and allow them to acclimatise for a couple of days before fitting


• don't store them or fit them in a room with wet plaster ... let the plaster dry out for about a week


• don't store them next to a direct source of heat like a radiator or Aga


• give the timber a coat of oil on all surfaces, if you're going to store them for a while


• before fitting, give the underside of the worktops two, or even three, generous coats of oil


• oil the end grain and any cut edges even more generously


• for the top surface of the worktop ... you need a "little but often" philosophy ... several thin coats are better than one thick one. Don't leave any excess oil at all, to lie on the surface


• use aluminium barriers with any appliances likely to generate heat and/or moisture. Under the rims of hobs, for instance, and above washing machines and dishwashers


• the timber must be allowed to expand and contract across the grain. Leave a 4 to 5mm gap to the rear of each worktop and fix each top in place with slotted brackets and washers


• fix any upstands to the wall - with a small siliconed gap - not to the worktops


• some suppliers recommend "end caps" with the grain at right angles to the main worktop ... wherever the tops are next to a continuous heat source like an Aga. This is a Barncrest end cap:





• if you want to put hot pans onto your worktop ... fit steel rods or a granite insert in a suitable position


• when working on the initial oiling of your worktop, use fine sandpaper - up to 180 grit - or very fine - triple 000 gauge - steel wool (although some suppliers don't recommend steel wool because of little pieces coming off into the wood grain). This smooths the wood as you apply the oil.


• if the first application of oil raises the grain of the wood - then sand down the surface, once it has dried - in the direction of the grain, before applying more oil. Vacuum the surface after sanding - and before applying more oil - to remove dust and small particles

If you want more detailed information on the actual fitting of the worktops, ask your supplier - or have a surf around supplier web sites - many give very detailed instructions.

B. Everyday Care and Maintenance

Where you start - with the everyday maintenance of your worktops - will depend on how good your fitter has been beforehand (or how good you were when you were fitting them) and on what sort of oil you are using (see Section C.).

In general though, you need six to seven thin coats of oil on your raw worktops, in the first week or so during and after fitting. The exposed ends and any drainer grooves need more. As this initial care gets under way, you can move to finer sandpaper - 220 grit or more - if you want a very smooth finish.

After the initial intensive treatment, reduce the oiling to once a week ... and only sand any areas that appear rough. Apply the oil with any smooth, absorbent cloth - that doesn't shed bits. It often works best to do it at the end of the day, when it's easier to clear the tops of all the items that need to be on them during the day. Make sure there is no excess oil remaining after about 15 minutes and leave them overnight ... then return all the clutter - sorry, gadgets and appliances - in the morning.

You can reduce the frequency to once every couple of weeks, then once a month and, eventually, to once every three to six months ... as the worktops develop a good, water-resistant surface. Areas which are used most, are likely to need oiling more often. You can tell when the worktops need re-oiling because the surface will start to look dull and any spilt water will spread out, instead of sitting in droplets like this:


(picture from trade supplier Woodentops)

To keep your worktops looking good:

• keep the area around the sink dry, when not in use ... mop up any spills


• don't leave steel, copper, or especially iron, pans on the tops for any length of time


• don't leave wet items like glasses, coffee mugs etc. on the surfaces - especially in the early days - you'll get ring marks


• don't put very hot pans directly on the surface - again, especially in the early days


• don't chop directly on the surface ... or drag heavy metal pans along it, especially across the grain


• don't use bleach, or aggresive chemical cleaners on the surface - but do clean it with a damp cloth and diluted washing up liquid. Remove any excess moisture afterwards ... just wipe it over with a tea towel you keep for the purpose


• if you do have any little accidents - go back to your fine sand paper and sand along the grain, until the mark is removed - then re-oil

After a good few years - if your worktops are looking a bit dull and scarred - you can sand down the whole surface (or better still get someone else to do it for you) and start with the oiling all over again. You could get them looking good as new - unless you make a habit of dropping cans and the like on them, from a great height ... then they'll have dents in them.

If you don't look after your tops and you get splits around the sink area (where the wood has got wet and then dried out again, repeatedly) ... especially if you get mould growing in the cracks too ... then there's not much you can do to repair them. Consult a joiner about the possibilty of cutting out a section and replacing it ... or go get some new, low maintenance tops. Some less serious problems - like bowing of the tops - can sometmes be cured. Again, consult a joiner.

C. Which Oil to Use

Your choice of oil is going to be very much down to personal preference ... and your degree of resistance to applying elbow grease at the same time as your oil. Do discuss it with your fitter, though, before any oil touches timber ... it's best not to mix the types. You have basically four choices: traditional drying oils; blended oil preparations; food safe oils; and hard wax oils. Oh and just a word of warning ... oily rags can self combust if left scrunched up and exposed to the air. Lay them out flat to dry, or keep them sealed away from air.

i. Traditional Drying Oils

Oils can be divided into three groups; drying oils, semi-drying oils and non-drying oils. The two, traditionally used, timber treatment oils are the drying oils - linseed and tung. They are extracted from the seeds of flax plants and the nut of the Chinese tung tree, respectively.

Technically speaking, drying oils are those which contain a high level of unsaturated fatty acids, making then reactive with air. During the drying process they absorb oxygen from the air and harden. When used to treat timber, they penetrate deep within the pore structure of the wood whilst - if applied thinly - still leaving those pores open. As the oil dries, a hardened layer forms, which provides protection against heat and moisture. This protection increases as more layers of oil are added and allowed to dry. Eventually a varnish-like layer is built up, both on the surface and within the structure of the wood, which can't chip and from which scratches can easily be removed (by light sanding and re-application of oil).

That's the theory.

In practice, it can be tricky to achieve perfect results. Linseed oil, in particular, is slow to dry and must be applied in very thin layers. If you apply it too thickly, or you don't let the layers dry completely between applications - which can take 3 to 4 days - you can get a sticky surface layer building up (and even get mould growing on it).

Pure tung oil dries more quickly and is a particularly good finish for resisting water and water stains (it was traditionally used for waterproofing boats in China) ... but it has a very matt appearance, must still be applied in very thin layers and is also not suitable for people with nut allergies.

ii. Blended Oil Preparations

These are what most people use for treating their timber worktops. At their simplest, they are just mixes of either linseed or tung oil with solvents, thinners and drying agents. The additives speed up the drying process and give a sheen to the finished surface. More complicated preparations may include a mixture of different oils, rather than just linseed and tung, and some may even contain dyes, to colour the wood (once again with solvents and thinners).

The disadvantage of these blends is that they don't penetrate as far into the wood, before drying, and so provide less protection.

"Boiled" linseed oil, used to be what it says on the tin but - these days - chemical drying agents are used. Teak oil very often contains just tung oil - with solvents and resins - giving a faster drying, glossy finish.

Danish Oil - is the most commonly used preparation. It contains a mixture of tung and linseed oil with a variety of other additives. Some give a more glossy finish than others. Rustins Danish Oil gives a satin finish.

Junckers Rustic Oil - has many admirers but is quite expensive. It doesn't specify which ingredients are included ... although it does contain "impregnating urethane hardening oil"

Liberon Finishing Oil - contains a blend of unspecified oils, resins and dryers and is noted for giving good water resistance (so probably a high proportion of tung)

Chestnut Finishing Oil - is tung based

iii. Food Safe Oils

These preparations, together with pure tung oil, are often recommended for butcher's blocks and chopping boards because they don't contain any solvents ... which are often toxic. The toxic additives in blended preparations tend to be volatile, though, and will evaporate away, leaving just the safe oils behind.Check the specifications of blended oil preparations if you're worried ... most will tell you whether or not they are food safe.

Sadolin Worktop Oil - doesn't give it's composition but no solvents are mentioned in the safety sheet - and it isn't a high gloss finish - so, I'm guessing it's a blend of just oils.

Naturtrend Oil - is a blend of nut oil, linseed oil, sunflower oil, poppyseed oil, thistle oil, rapeseed oil and wood oil - with a satin finish

Chestnut Food Safe Oil - is highly refined mineral oil (a non-drying oil)

olive oil, castor oil, almond oil and walnut oil - all have been recommended for chopping blocks - but all are non-drying oils.

sunflower oil, corn oil and soya bean oil - have, likewise been recommended, and are semi-drying oils.

Non-drying oils, whilst naturally water repellant, will never harden like the drying oils. Apply them only in very thin layers, otherwise they will go tacky and/or rancid. The semi-drying oils are better - but you still need to be careful not to apply too much.

iv. Hard Wax Oils

These were developed for treating timber floors and many purists don't like using them for timber worktops. They are a mixture of oils with waxes (which give extra hardness and shine) and solvents. They dry quickly, need no sanding between coats, only need 2 to 4 applications and give a water repellant satin finish.

Osmo Topoil - contains; sunflower oil, soybean oil, thistle oil, carnauba wax, candellila wax, paraffins and white spirit. Osmo recommend using two coats applied with a brush (4 coats on any end grain and 3 or 4 coats if applied with a cloth) ... with 8 hours between the two coats. They stress that the coats must be very thin and evenly applied.

Treatex Harwax Oil - contains linseed oil, sunflower oil, jojoba oil, beeswax, carnauba wax and candelilla wax, as main ingredients. Treatex recommend just two coats applied 2 hours apart. It's dry enough to use in 6 hours and fully cured after 24 hours.

They sound ideal, these hardwax oils - as long as the finish is durable - but I don't have any experience of them in the long term. The manufacturers claim that, unlike with wood varnishes, you can sand down small areas and re-apply hardwax oil ... if you get marks or scuffs on the surface. I've noticed too, that some timber worktop suppliers have started recommending hardwax oils ... so I guess they must believe that the finish will be durable. You'll have to make your own decision.


In conclusion, then; timber worktops need to be treated carefully before fitting and they need to be fitted properly ... allowing for movement of the wood. Early treatment of the wood ... before fitting, during fitting and for the first week or two after fitting ... is quite arduous (at least it is if you're using traditional oils), although your fitter may do some of the work for you.

Once you've got past the first few months when, after all, you're probably quite keen and enthusiastic ... and in love with your new kitchen ... then the maintenance isn't too bad. You only need to oil them two to four times a year, depending on the use they get. Drainer grooves, cut ends and heavily used areas may need a bit of extra attention and, if you get careless, you may need to do a bit of sanding and re-oiling. The fact that it's relatively easy to renovate and even repair timber worktops means, though, that you could keep them looking good for many years to come.


A walnut worktop with undermounted sink and drainer grooves - by Baker Street Cabinetmakers