Anyone know anything about wooden worktops?

[BelfastSmile]

We moved into our house a couple of years ago, and the kitchen has wooden worktops. They look ok, but I’ve never liked them because they have a slightly sticky feel, and they’re not smooth - you can feel all the little ridges of the wood. Both of these things make them feel like they’re never properly clean.

They also have some marks and stains; in particular, there are black marks around the sink where water has sat.

We’re not sure what to do with them. We don’t want to redo the entire kitchen, and we reckon we’d really like the worktops if they felt a bit cleaner and smoother! Is there something we’re meant to be doing with them to keep them looking better? Like oiling them or something?

Or is it possible to get them sanded down and re-treated or something like that?

I have the same problem! Watching with interest. I think we’re just going to replace the worktop at some point as it’s too far gone. I tried sanding it but it started to disintegrate. There’s a lot of other priorities first eg leaking roof so we may have to put up with it for a while though!

You need to sand them down (fine sandpaper) and oil them (Danish oil or teak oil) a few times a year. If they are blackened you can sand it off and treat with oil as above.
Edited to add: you paint the oil on and wipe off any excess. Leave to dry and then put your bits back on!

We’ve just replaced our wooden worktops. I’d never have them again. Having said that, we were rubbish at maintenance. You could try sanding and oiling with Osmo oil to restore.

Sand down and re oil. I use osmo oil, as you can patch repair if a bit gets damaged. I’ve lived here about eight years now and have redone them once since I’ve been here with the osmo as they were a bit sticky when I moved in, and they still look reasonably good. I could do with doing a bit of patch repair near the tap as it was leaky, but they still look good and do not feel sticky. I have dogs and a 4YO so am constantly wiping them down and they’ve held up well.

Black marks can be treated with Barkeepers Friend powder - mix into a paste and leave on the black stains for an hour - repeat until they’re gone, then sand them down well and put about 3 coats of worktop oil on.

Use an orbital sander to start with, otherwise it'll take ages. We finish ours with Danish oil (it's currently got about 8 coats, and is really lovely - smooth and water resistant). We also keep a dry cloth by the sink to wipe up water spills immediately.

We love our wooden worktops but I understand if you want a flawless shiny finish they may not be for you. Not sure what you mean by ridges ours are smooth.

You can sand them when they get marked. You should treat with osmo oil. It's easy, dries quickly and protects.

Recommend buying one of those little hand sanders from B&Q for about £30. Buy the sandpaper squares in screwfix, for about £4. Much cheaper

https://www.diy.com/departments/mac-allister-220w-220-240v-corded-1-4-sheet-sander-mqss220/5059340252346_BQ.prd?storeId=1260&&&&&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=21073404422&gbraid=0AAAAADt-XHkzjxTY_67myLw9sILtCFENa&gclid=CjwKCAjw3rnCBhBxEiwArN0QE6wrDE5g2qoK9_02_18kX8-cT3XrPCUqvKWAQT25o08bR83F-EH_UBoCrDEQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

Thanks everyone; that’s all really helpful. So if I sanded it back, could I then use some kind of stain to change the colour? We don’t love the colour as it is; would like to make it a bit darker. Could I do that and then use the lacquer/oil to make it waterproof?

You are supposed to oil them regularly, every few months I think? They look lovely but are a pain!! We rented a property with one and the landlord told us we had to oil it regularly, it was so annoying. I remember getting those black marks from water. So once you've redone it make sure you keep oiling.

You can buy a silicon drip tray to hide the stains? We once paid a decorator to come in and sand and oil when we were on holiday

you cant put anything wet on wooden worktops. Will never have them again

I love our wooden worktops but my partner is really good at the upkeep. Annual sanding and treat with oil. I'd be loathe to laquer or stain.
Wet on them is fine as long as you don't then have something with weight in top.
The upkeep is worth it as they look fabulous.

Fiddes or Osmo hard wax oil are both brilliant. Once you've sanded, they are easy to apply - there's a range of colours and small tester sachets are cheap on eBay. Once done your worktops can look gorgeous for years. Any bits that do need redone (e.g.
round the tap) can be done easily without having to do the whole worktop.

The 'sticky' feeling is because someone has used too much not Osmo oil. So yes sand back get some Osmo in a colour you like do it all and then in future you can just do the spots needed.

I had solid wood worktops in my old house. Previous owners never maintained them properly. I scraped the surface with a blade first to get rid of the sticky feeling. I bought an electric sander to sand down the tops, get rid of any imperfections, then finished it by hand. Gave them all a good wash, then applied osmo oil with a paintbrush and rubbed in with a lint free cloth. Afterwards they looked amazing. We sold our house eventually and had so many compliments abou the worktops! They are worth keeping if all they only feel sticky and have a few marks!

I posted about it at the time. First picture is the before, the last is the finished. No longer shiny, sticky or bright orange!

https://www.instagram.com/p/CSUCXFiDh2f/?igsh=MWlpOWtvaTFyMDE4aQ==

I love our wooden worktops! The best thing I did was getting the kitchen fitters to cut me two big butchers blocks from the off cuts. I put all the pans and roasting tins on them when they’re hot, and chop my vegetables on them. It keeps the worktops like new. I also keep a dry cloth by the taps and quickly wipe off any water that gets into them.

We’ve got marble on the island and I find that harder to maintain than the worktops.

Thank you all so much, this is very helpful! So I sanded it back them back, apply Osmo in whatever colour, and then is that it? Do I reapply the oil regularly? Or a clear version? Or only when there’s a mark on it?

The Osmo hardwax oil comes in tints, if you contact a supplier they will recommend a product. Hardwax oil is more durable and waterproof than Danish Oil. I would really recommend it, have used their products on dozens of projects over the years: doors, floor, worktop etc.

If you use a tinted oil the colour will build up with each coat, you could start with a coloured oil and then clear finish for the topcoats and any maintenance. https://priorypolishes.co.uk/product/osmo-top-oil/

As everyone else has said. Sand, osmo and enjoy. Beautiful.

You can sand any wood so that will get you back to a fresh, y stained finish and then stain/ oil as you prefer.

Had ours sanded back and treated with something that they use on actual bar counters so it’s super durable and waterproof. They look great now but always wipe up spills etc and be careful with harsh chemicals

Had ours sanded back and treated with something that they use on actual bar counters so it’s super durable and waterproof. They look great now but always wipe up spills etc and be careful with harsh chemicals

We applied several layers of Osmo Oil 7 years ago when we had them installed and they're pretty much good as new. I think Osmo Oil is the gold standard.
To apply it, you'd want to sand your worktop back so that it's totally clean first.

Another big+ for osmo over danish or teak. Osmo is a hardwax oil. You sand the worktop back to fresh grain at 120-180 grit (can use a stripping grit of 80 if there’s lots of damage).

3 coats of osmo with 12-14 hours between coats and it lasts years, it makes a beautiful water tight and smooth finish, and it’s incredibly durable. More importantly if there is any damage to your worktop you don’t have to refinish the whole thing or replace the whole thing like you would with stone or other worktops. My brother in law left a hot pan that damaged an area, just sanded that small area back and re-oiled. Job done.

my father stained the worktop with an oily curry takeaway (turmeric is delicious but deadly for stains) - again, simple sand and reoil, dead easy to fix, and worktop looks like new.

im a big fan of wooden worktops (I think they look great) but definitely use osmo. Danish or teak oil just don’t seal as well (they can seal well but need many, many coats)