Kitchen Countertop

[Andrew Catron]

I've got a project coming up and I figured I would put it out there for the experts in finishing.

My fiance would like a faux countertop in our kitchen. I'm thinking I could layer up some MDO let her paint on that, Put a solid wood edge on it, then seal it with minwax helmspar urethane. The minwax site says its good for countertops, but I wanted to know what you guys think? I'm a little concerned about it being food safe. not that we will be placing food directly on the countertop, but I would still feel better if it was food safe.

Also any other finishes or ideas you have for finishing the countertop, I'm definitely open fo suggestions.

[Steve Schoene]

I would not chose a spar varnish for a countertop. Spar varnish, even Minwax I assume, is formulated to be flexible in order to cope with the wide range of temperature and moisture levels in experior applications. But that makes it on the soft side for counters. You would be better off with a traditional resin varnish, such as Behlen Rockhard, though this is somewhat dark colored. Lighter colored varnishes include Pratt & Lambert 38 or McCloskey Heirloom. You might want to give the "faux" finish a coat of shellac as a barrier between the paint and the clear top coat just to be sure of compatibility issues.

All clear finishes are food safe when they are cured, so that shouldn't be an issue. A few manufacturers proclaim their product's food safety, but that is mostly a marketing gimmick.

[Ana Nevada]

Countertops and flooring get the most use in a kitchen design. They provide a place to work and a palette on which to stand. Together, they can add up to the largest surface in the kitchen. Their finishes can be used to draw the viewer's eye in any direction, to make a visual statement, or to support a design concept. You can use one to support the other visually, or use both countertop and flooring together to jointly demand attention. Faux finishing is a great way to change the appearance of a room---especially a kitchen---without spending a lot of money. When people think of faux finishing, different wall effects come to mind. But more than walls can benefit from the newness of a such treatment. Explore the possibilities of floors, cabinets, kitchen countertops and even the ceiling. There are lot of finishing design ideas you can find online. Proper searching and enough time to set things will put you into the right perspective.

[Pete McMahon]

Ana,
Great advice. Faux work is a great tool in design. When I did my kitchen over I had a large tile floor butting up to an oak dining room floor. There was a small threshold separating them. I painted a falling block pattern on it to define and separate the two floors visually. Most of my woodworking friends thought I did an inlay on it. Fun stuff.

To the OP: when planning any kind of faux work or painting schemes for that matter, be sure they visually relate to their surroundings. By that I mean be sure the colors work well together. Otherwise it looks forced and unbalanced. The advice to look on line for ideas is solid. Just remember, more often than not, less is more.

[Henry Ambrose]

A sufficiently thick layer of epoxy would be the best from a function point of view. Probably two or three rolled on coats of West System or similar would do the job.

Any moisture that gets through from any direction is going to be a huge problem. You've got to seal the MDO all around. I know MDO is very moisture resistant - I use it often - but for a counter top with a sink cut out or around plumbing fixtures you're going to have problems eventually - its not really inert. Seal the edges completely if you want this to last. Even then be prepared for some degradation over time with water exposure.

OTOH, if there is no water exposure don't worry too much.

[Tony Bilello]

I have found all min-wax products to be inferior and haven't used it in 30 years.
Thats just me.