Beech work top finish

[fred55]

Hi my daughter has just moved house, this one has what looks to be a thick Beech Island work top with an inset sink ! no drainer. Just wondering if others could give me some pointers on how to treat the wood top to help stop the water marks. My advice so far don't mix water with wood worktops ! Thanks.

 

[custard]

Osmo is a popular solution for very good reasons. The regular Osmo polyx will tend to darken Beech slightly, if that's a problem use Osmo Raw Oil (3044). Osmo will sell you a sample sachet for not much money so you can run a test on the underside and check it's what you want and also that it's compatible with the current finish.

Good luck!

 

[ED65]

Polyurethane varnish is one of the best things for this as long as you don't mind the colour it imparts. Poly is cheap but both highly scratch and water resistant, and can be a doddle to apply to a high standard now that wiping it on has been widely popularised so that there's lots of good advice out there on how to do it.

If you don't like the look of a built film finish you can apply it more thinly (e.g. three thinned coats with excess wiped away) but it's the same with all finishes, thin = less protection.

Is there any end grain exposed that might get wet during normal use? That's the surface to pay most attention to as it's most absorbent and also the hardest to seal. You could seal this thoroughly with epoxy prior to applying the varnish (or another finish) if you want to truly waterproof it.

 

[fred55]

Thanks for replies - will try the OSMO way first, like you say the end grain at the sink is the part that suffers most and will be hardest to seal. Looks like another job for Dad !