Best finish for antique heart pine counters

[William Mark Dulken]

Thanks guys for your support, not so much to the vroom dude. I also see nothing about food preperation with that product but I honestly never prepare food directly on any counter, I always use a cutting board.

[Kent A Bathurst]

........not so much to the vroom dude...........

Well, Scott - your fan club membership roster seems not to have grown in this thread.

The rest of us still love ya, though...................

The Vroom Dude. I like it!! That just might have some staying power.


Just for the record: I agree with the general thrust of Scott's position. However, Mark has given me the impression that this countertop wil be treated more like a piece of furniture than the kitchen countertops in my house. Ours aren't abused, and everything is clean, neat and tidy, but in the heat of battle, they are a multi-function flat surface, nothing more. Sometimes clean-up has to be deferred till "the morning after" for predictable reasons............

SWMBO is a gourmet cook - no brag, just fact - who enjoys hosting dinner parties with our friends. Her kitchen is perfectly analgous to my workshop: Each is the vehicle to get stuff done, remarkable stuff comes out of it, it is full of good-quality power tools, plus an endless inventory of special-purpose hand tools - many of which mystify the spouse as to purpose and why they cost so darn much, and neither of us gripes about the other: "Let he who is without sin....."

On the wall, she has a cross-stitched piece from her late Mom: "Not only am I the Angel of this Kitchen, also I am the Boss." When work is in progress in either lair, stay the heck out.

And - last - Mark: Any question you pose will get a variety of responses. For me - that is what I am looking for when I inquire. Good crowd here. Don't get too wrapped around the axle, eh? The Vroom Dude [tm] was simply giving you his 6 bucks worth, that's all. You don't like his reply - fine by me, and fine my Scott also, I am sure. But you did ask for his input, and to call him out as not helpful is.....well.....not helpful.....in the grand scheme of things.

Good luck, Mark

Please post photos of the finished project - should look great. BTW - how close to Biltmore are you? Been there a few times - nice area.

[Tony Joyce]

Thanks guys for your support, not so much to the vroom dude. I also see nothing about food preperation with that product but I honestly never prepare food directly on any counter, I always use a cutting board.

Most all finishes are nontoxic after they are dry, unless stated otherwise on the container.

Tony Joyce

[John TenEyck]

The fact that some folks get good life using shellac while others can't even with the most durable finish available I think speaks more to how the counter was used and cared for than the finish. I have friends with kitchens that have never boiled water in them. As you might expect, they look mahvelous; others, like my own, where stuff gets spattered everywhere and doesn't see clean up for hours (really, hours, not days - usually). Like Kent, my wife is a wonderful cook. Period. Doesn't extend to timely clean-up. If we had wood counter tops they would be trash. Fortunately, granite stands up to most anything.

I'd still go with a drop in sink. Careful use and timely cleanup should give you good service.

John

[Mel Fulks]

Did anyone else notice that in Scott's photo that not only is the counter top shot...but the sink is too. Guess he doesn't like
wooden sinks either.

[William Mark Dulken]

And - last - Mark: Any question you pose will get a variety of responses. For me - that is what I am looking for when I inquire. Good crowd here. Don't get too wrapped around the axle, eh? The Vroom Dude [tm] was simply giving you his 6 bucks worth, that's all. You don't like his reply - fine by me, and fine my Scott also, I am sure. But you did ask for his input, and to call him out as not helpful is.....well.....not helpful.....in the grand scheme of things.

In this thread (my 2nd one on this forum) I get accused of trolling and vroom dudes' responses were sarcastic, plain and simple. So I am thinking of doing something a bit unconventional and against better judgement, how do you think new ideas are born? I am on many forums and I ask questions to get opinions. Labeling, judgement and sarcasm are always afoot. I do not have thin skin but I will call someone out for being a downer. Rant over.

[Kent A Bathurst]

Well, Mark - you definitely read a lot more into his comments than I did. Maybe that is due to his 1,600 + posts over 5 years, of which I have read many - I have a comfortable understanding of what and who Scott is [and many of the other "usual suspects" as well]. In fact, I recall the flurry of threads he started when he first joined the gang. I have read all 9 of your posts, and I guess I do not yet have a handle on your style or sensitivities. I'll wager I will remember your initial threads as well.

Again - welcome to the group. Looking forward to your insights and contributions to the discourse. Particularly - let us know how the kitchen turns out, and which direction you go with the finishing.

Regards,

Kent

[William Mark Dulken]

I've decided to store the under-mount sink and heart pine for another day and I just ordered a Boos butcher block top and a Kohler drop-in sink. I checked with Boos and they will guarantee their top provided I use a drop-in sink and use their finish. I'll take some pics, it should be beautiful. Here it is without tops or doors and drawers.

[Brian W Smith]

As a data point;I built our hard Maple "butcher block" tops here,30 some years ago.And can give you our experiences to the umpteeth degree.I AM(and this can NOT be emphasized enough,haha),the head cook/bottle washer here.We've had parties of up to 150,we used to host some motorcycle groups.But most range less than 40.Our house has become a sort of "Inn" for lack of better term for both mine,and wifeys family.So imagine every month having some sort of blow-out food fest.

I finished ours with an oil varnish,has never been touched up.Drop in SS sink.They have held up extremely well.......BUT,it's basically because of very strict orders to stay out of my kitchen.Some folks do not have the sense to treat wood surfaces,they'll sit a glass of ice water down on a priceless antique in a second if you let them.Some folks have zero business in a kitchen regardless of the counter material.

We also DON'T have a dishwasher....we also have hand planed SYP floors....we raised four wonderful boys,all of which now have an extremely deep understanding of wood furniture BTW.The problem is water.Anyone with wood counters around the sink area will end up being clinically fastidious about water and their counters or they're going to end up like the photo posted above.Is this a problem for you?Ain't for me.

Personally/proffesionally(pro cabinet shop),we recommend running metal or granite around the sink,sort of "framing" that area and THEN,dropping on the wood everywhere else.It looks very nice to bring this sink "area" out a cpl inches to further enhance the sink area.......and will stop there because design ques start to run off the page in expensive kitchens.

Best of luck,look into sprayed on epoxy.....not the thick,pour-on bartop goop.

[Mel Fulks]

I think that is wise and informative, Brian .And inviting people over and allowing them to cook might be ok for a barbecue, but it is not hosting. But if you get insistent guests ....asign them to cleaning the bathroom.

[Pat Barry]

I don't think you should be offended by Scott's comments (although I do agree they have a tone of sarcasm). I immediately thought that Scott's picture was of plywood underlayment that had been stained by moisture leaking under some old vinyl / linoleum countertop so I wouldn't be scared of by that. Scott, comment? I also think that the drop in sink (not undermount) is the right way to go. I am sure that the heart pine can be effectively sealed to minimize moisture absorption.

[scott vroom]

I immediately thought that Scott's picture was of plywood underlayment that had been stained by moisture leaking under some old vinyl / linoleum countertop so I wouldn't be scared of by that. Scott, comment? I also think that the drop in sink (not undermount) is the right way to go. I am sure that the heart pine can be effectively sealed to minimize moisture absorption.

The pic is a tear out of a 15 year old tile counter set over a mud base. What you see is the exposed water damaged plywood substrate.

I've ripped out enough kitchen sink counters to know that water penetration is inevitable regardless of precautions taken. You can slow it with sealers and caulking, but eventually water will find it's way beneath (in the OP's case) a rim mounted sink and into that pine end grain. Once that end grain begins to soak up the moisture it will expand and break any remaining caulk seal, accelerating the rot both in the pine counter and any wood substrate I don't think it's realistic to expect a homeowner to keep that area dry.

But like I said earlier, it's his home, his project, and his dinero so he can do whatever he wants. He did ask for inputs, right?

[Scott Holmes]

Well here's another Scott jumping into the discussion...

William, OP

The finish you proposed is an OIL finish; not an oil-based varnish. I think most everyone here will agree that an oil finish would have been a very poor choice for a countertop near a sink... virtually no protection. That finish is not much more than a cutting board finish.

I think you made a very wise choice not using the antique pine as a countertop. It would make a really nice kitchen cart or something like that. Cutting boards are usually maple or hard dense wood; pine and maple are much different when it come to durability as a working wood surface in a kitchen.