Recycled Oregon benchtop finish

Hi, I’m so new to this. My carpenter friend just made me a huge beautiful Oregon island bench out of old roof beams. He put a coat of bondall timber benchtop oil on and it’s quite orange. He’s now sanded it off. I’ve tested many off cuts with mirotone 2013 mirostain custom colour. The guy made up the colour to make the wood more brown but it’s going on blotchy and it’s grabbing a lot of black on the grain. Should I put a sealer under the stain or would the oil work for this? I need to keep this as appropriate for food as possible. Or should I just oil and will the Oregon darken with time?

Mirotone 2013 won't protect the timber as it is only a stain and oregon stains inconsistently.

There are low yellowing Mirotone finishes that can be professionally sprayed on that are suitable for kitchen benchtops like Mirotec 8052. Keep in mind these finishes are not easily repaired.

Osmo wont yellow the oregon too much but will require constant maintenance and isn't really suitable for kitchen bench tops.

Regardless of what you put on it this kitchen benchtop will require constant attention and will need to be treated carefully as it isn't really a suitable kitchen benchtop material in my opinion.

Thanks. What is Osmo?

Personally you need to start again, remove the stain and the oil if you can, wash down with Acetone or similar re sand and then apply colour if you want even colour you may have to spot tint, then finish with some thing like Rustins plastic coating this will help protect the timber, Oregon is not a wise choice for a kitchen bench top, too soft and will act like a sponge if only finished with oil.
The black, could be anything it is recycled, what was the building it was removed from, could well be from old nails and a myriad of other things, you get that some times with recycled timber, usually considered part of the charm.

SWMBO chose Oregon kitchen bench tops for our kitchen .
It's very soft and so to protect it I used two pack epoxy floor finish and this sort of works but only for a while.
I.ts actually a bit less yellow in sunlight than shows in the photo. I think its the LED warm lighting give it this hue.

Attachment 506641

I reckon we're getting ~5 years between recoats before it starts looking ratty. Recoating is a horrible job as all the old epoxy must be sanded off and that is hard work. We've let it go a bit each time and have only recoated it 3 times in 25 years and it was due another recoat a few years back but we are looking at renovating the kitchen so that won't be happening.

The proposed reno has a stone bench top on the top of the list.

Osmo oil is a 'hardwax oil' made in Europe you can buy it at Abrasive Belts and Buffs down at lonsdale. Maybe the epoxy finish BobL mentioned would be best suited to the soft nature of oregon but still you're looking at requiring reasonable maintenance.

Thanks. Yep it’s all sanded back and now fresh again. I’m practising on off cuts so I don’t make the same mistake again. It’s an island bench and I don’t mind a rustic finish and re-oiling every 6 months or so. But not keen on sanding too often!

Is there a trick to applying hard wax oil? I tried a Bunnings one and it was very uneven to apply in both colour and texture.

You'll have to lightly sand prior to reapplying oil and even more so due to the fact this benchtop is going to get dented and scratched easily without a hard coating due to the soft nature of oregon and being in such a high traffic area such as a kitchen benchtop.

Best i've found for applying osmo is roll on a coat, allow to dry for 24hrs, very lightly cut back with 320 grit, clean off dust, roll on a second coat, allow to dry 24-48hrs and denib with 1200 grit followed by a little bit of the osmo liquid wax cleaner. Leaves a nice finish and is much more hard wearing than a wipe on wipe off type application.

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Originally Posted by hurcorh

Osmo oil is a 'hardwax oil' made in Europe you can buy it at Abrasive Belts and Buffs down at lonsdale. Maybe the epoxy finish BobL mentioned would be best suited to the soft nature of oregon but still you're looking at requiring reasonable maintenance.

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Thanks so much! I called them and going there today to pick up some samples.

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Originally Posted by hurcorh

You'll have to lightly sand prior to reapplying oil and even more so due to the fact this benchtop is going to get dented and scratched easily without a hard coating due to the soft nature of oregon and being in such a high traffic area such as a kitchen benchtop.

Best i've found for applying osmo is roll on a coat, allow to dry for 24hrs, very lightly cut back with 320 grit, clean off dust, roll on a second coat, allow to dry 24-48hrs and denib with 1200 grit followed by a little bit of the osmo liquid wax cleaner. Leaves a nice finish and is much more hard wearing than a wipe on wipe off type application.

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Fantastic info. Yay I have some hope. I’ll let you know how I go

Less is more with rolling on Osmo.
Just on the roller,
Use the Osmo roller (pricey) or use the Unipro microfibre roller from bunnings. I found the monarch rollers dump a lot of their fibres in your finish it is a pain to work with.

Use the design of the roller to your advantage this will remove most chances of seeing roller lines in the finished surface. By this I mean use full length rolls going with the length of the timber grain, apply even consistent pressure and have the open end of the roller pointing in the direction of the previously rolled section of surface. As seen in this video. Sponsored: Osmo Polyx(R)-Oil: Roller and Brush Application Demo - YouTube

There is less pressure at the open end of the roller as more pressure is directed onto the surface directly below the handle of the roller. I hope that makes sense but if not i'll try to explain in better detail.

Wow ok - I hope I don’t stuff it up!! Sounds complex. Have you ever used the tinted version or do you stain then put clear over the top?

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Originally Posted by hurcorh

Less is more with rolling on Osmo.
Just on the roller,
Use the Osmo roller (pricey) or use the Unipro microfibre roller from bunnings. I found the monarch rollers dump a lot of their fibres in your finish it is a pain to work with.

Use the design of the roller to your advantage this will remove most chances of seeing roller lines in the finished surface. By this I mean use full length rolls going with the length of the timber grain, apply even consistent pressure and have the open end of the roller pointing in the direction of the previously rolled section of surface. As seen in this video. Sponsored: Osmo Polyx(R)-Oil: Roller and Brush Application Demo - YouTube

There is less pressure at the open end of the roller as more pressure is directed onto the surface directly below the handle of the roller. I hope that makes sense but if not i'll try to explain in better detail.

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Yea I've used the tinted but that will probably be more prone to water blotching in the long term and uneven staining due to the nature of oregon.

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Originally Posted by hurcorh

Yea I've used the tinted but that will probably be more prone to water blotching in the long term and uneven staining due to the nature of oregon.

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Thanks for answering all my questions. If I stained underneath would I use an oil based stain? I have miratone 2013. Also do you find the Osmo yellows over time?

Osmo isn't too bad for yellowing and there is a 'white wash' type one that works great on oak and ash as it keeps the color quite natural. Osmo make a UV protection oil but I haven't used it.

If you're staining the oregon I wouldn't expect much yellowing to occur but the stain will probably lighten over time to a degree.
Water based stain fully dried followed by oil based finish is ok I believe. Paint central on daws road will be able to advise assuming you got the stain from them.

Thanks so much. Paint central’s is where I got my tint from. They’re great

Could could do the the tinted and wipe off as desired then allow to dry and go with the above roller method with the osmo satin or whatever you chose.

alternatively you could do a water based stain, allow to dry completely and go with regular osmo over top. The main combo to avoid would be water based clear over oil based stain probably. Keep in mind the less steps and simpler the finishing procedure the less steps you will have to do every time you need to refinish

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Originally Posted by hurcorh

Could could do the the tinted and wipe off as desired then allow to dry and go with the above roller method with the osmo satin or whatever you chose.

alternatively you could do a water based stain, allow to dry completely and go with regular osmo over top. The main combo to avoid would be water based clear over oil based stain probably. Keep in mind the less steps and simpler the finishing procedure the less steps you will have to do every time you need to refinish

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That’s exactly what I was thinking - put the amber stain Osmo, rub off then put clear over the top 24 hours later. I’ve got it on a test piece now just waiting for the first coat to dry. The paint guy at paint central said the stain I bought is spirit based. Not sure I even know what that means. Also that it would be a matter of trying the two products together and hoping!! Thought it might be better to just do the Osmo!!

I built a dining table out of Oregon planks, and after washing with oxalic acid, the table turned kind of pink.
What I did was
Firstly I put on 3 coats of shellac as sealers. I chose shellac because it doesn't change the hue of the wood, This is followed by light sanding with 1200 grit wet and dry.
Then I mixed a small amount of burnt umber oil paint from an art supply store with an ample amount of citrus solvent (or white spirit if you prefer)
Then coat it on with a small brush. This provided just the right stain and changed the colour of Oregon to more yellowish/brown.
Once it was dry. I finished it off with poly.
Worked well for me and it cost next to nothing.

Just be aware, that some paint outlets will sell you what they stock not necessarily the best product for the job.

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Originally Posted by justonething

I built a dining table out of Oregon planks, and after washing with oxalic acid, the table turned kind of pink.
What I did was
Firstly I put on 3 coats of shellac as sealers. I chose shellac because it doesn't change the hue of the wood, This is followed by light sanding with 1200 grit wet and dry.
Then I mixed a small amount of burnt umber oil paint from an art supply store with an ample amount of citrus solvent (or white spirit if you prefer)
Then coat it on with a small brush. This provided just the right stain and changed the colour of Oregon to more yellowish/brown.
Once it was dry. I finished it off with poly.
Worked well for me and it cost next to nothing.

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Thanks - I’m so new to this I don’t even know half those products? I do know shellac though. Can I ask why you used that? Was that so the wood was sealed so the stain absorbed more evenly? My sister told me that I have been using a spirit based stain and should use water based for a soft wood for more even application so that might help too.

So much great info!

I used shellac for a few reasons:
1. Like you said, the wood is sealed and the stain is absorbed evenly. In fact, after applying 3 coats with a brush, The surface was starting to have a shine. (If your shellac is very thin, it will take more than 3 coats to achieve that). The burnt umber stain applied was very even. and I only needed to apply 1 coat of stain.
2. The shellac seals but it doesn't block the grain of the wood.
3. I only needed one or two coats of poly as a final finish.

I also tested water-based colours. The burnt umber is nowhere near as vivid as the oil paint. just make sure you use oil paint sparingly with lots of thinner.

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Originally Posted by justonething

I used shellac for a few reasons:
1. Like you said, the wood is sealed and the stain is absorbed evenly. In fact, after applying 3 coats with a brush, The surface was starting to have a shine. (If your shellac is very thin, it will take more than 3 coats to achieve that). The burnt umber stain applied was very even. and I only needed to apply 1 coat of stain.
2. The shellac seals but it doesn't block the grain of the wood.
3. I only needed one or two coats of poly as a final finish.

I also tested water-based colours. The burnt umber is nowhere near as vivid as the oil paint. just make sure you use oil paint sparingly with lots of thinner.

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Thanks once again. Can you please confirm exactly which product you finished this with and whether you’re happy with the final result? I bought some spirit / oil ?? based walnut stain yesterday after ringing the Osmo rep. I’ve watered it down lots with turps and testing now on a sample piece. I think it will probably be a good colour.

I managed to get a massive pallet of recycled denailed 100mm oregon floorboards that I ripped in half and laminated together to make massive 50mm thick tables for our brewery taproom. Worked out great and I’m amazed how well they have held up after 6 years with constant daily bathing in beer. Yes there are a few dings but not as many as I thought there would be.

For finish, I used Cabbots CFP Floor. I know I’ll get a few saying polyurethane isn’t a great finish but I’ve used CFP Floor on lots of projects and I think it’s a great product - can be applied like an oil for a more matte finish. Yes not technically food safe but you’re not going to be cutting food directly on a timber countertop anyway.

I used feast Watson spar varnish

I’ve stained the wood with walnut oil based stain watered down turps which took a lot of the orange out. I rang Osmo and asked and they said oil based stain. 4 days later I then applied the Osmo Polyx oil with a scotch brite pad as recommended and it’s brown from the stain coming off. I rang Osmo and no answer. Should I apply differently or is it better to do this way so all the stain that might come off does?

How did you end up going with this?
Not sure if it was said earlier but best to finish both sides of the benchtop, top and bottom, equally by the way. Not so much for stain but for the osmo/varnish you apply.