Hi
Do any of you have solid wood worktops in your kitchen?  If so, do you treat them with anything to stop them from staining/marking?  I've heard that you should apply oil, wax, etc?
What do you use and what make?  We are having some fitted in the New Year and want to make sure we keep them looking their best.
Thanks in advance.

We use Danish Oil.

Rustins :)

Yes Danish oil is good

Thanks.  How often to you find you apply it?  Does it repel water/stains or do you have to do any other maintenance to keep the worktops nice?

I haven't got a wooden worktop, but when doing out our utility room asked about wooden work surface and the care they needed. The reply from the company was as follows

When first fitted, oil once a day for a week, then
Oil once a week for a month, then
Oil once a month for a year.

After that they can be done annually.

We decided to stick with a surface that looks like wood, but isn't!

I do have a piece of timber as a window sill in a room and that I oil using a mousse type of stuff, can't remember the name, but a bit easier to use on a relatively small area then oil. I do it when I feel it needs it as it gets a lot of sunshine.

> How often to you find you apply it?  Does it repel water/stains or do you have to do any other maintenance to keep the worktops nice? .

We have a wood worktop on the island in the centre of the kitchen where we eat and prepare food. It's about 4 years old now. As has been said, it was oiled more frequently when new, but now it gets done around every 4 months or, as now, before visitors coming :) The colour fades a bit, so the oil brings back the nice wood glow. Otherwise, just wipe with a damp cloth. We also have a wood worktop in the utility room, including around the sink. This top gets oiled around once a year. I haven't noticed any stains, but I try to wipe up any water that splashes around the draining board and it doesn't get used as much as a kitchen sink would. The main worktops in my kitchen are granite as I was concerned about water stains around the sink area and I'm not OCD about housework, nor is my husband, so didn't want to be continually wiping :) :) Hopefully someone else can give their experience of wood near a kitchen sink !!

>The main worktops in my kitchen are granite as I was concerned about water stains around the sink area

Very sensible. I remember in our quarters as a child the wooden worktops by the sink were blackened from the water staining; very unpleasant-looking.

> Very sensible

Not really - just not OCD and have a messy OH :) :) :)

I've got oak worktops and I used Danish oil when first installed, three and a half years ago. I haven't done them since but maybe I should. Certainly have no staining around the sink but I'm always careful to wipe it dry.

I have used Lieberon Finishing Oil, it's beautiful but the secret is in the prep work of the wood tops.

I used 3 grades of sand paper to get a really silky smooth finish then making sure to remove all traces of dust I applied the first coat. The more coats you use the higher the gloss finish.

I put 5 coats, my tops look like glass varnished woods, it is well sealed and is easy to clean with a soapy cloth, the wood is nourished and has no signs of bowing or splitting.
Lieberon Tung Oil is also excellent, it gives a good matt finish and is particularly good for food prep surfaces, I used that on the chopping boards I made out of the left over bits from the kitchen tops.

The kitchen is a year old now, I shall probably do the woods again in the summer.

Have beech worktops in my old place which I still own and let. It looked good as new for about four years with an annual light rub down and oil, but we always used chopping boards and trivets for hot stuff. It's starting to look a bit rustic now (14 yrs?), and areas round the sink are starting to swell, but looks as though an hour or two with a sander and re-oiling would have it good as new. For me, now though it'd be laminate every time.