Natural Looking Bartop Finish? - Question of the Week

December 12, 2006 | Filed Under Blog, Question of the Week 

This week’s question comes from Doug. He writes:

“I am building a bar top from 8/4 Walnut for my son’s new home, and he wants to have a very natural finish on it - no film finish allowed. My first thought was to use BLO, but some research has led me to think that Pure Tung Oil might provide better protection. Is Pure Tung Oil a better option than BLO for an open grained wood like Walnut?”

And here was my reply:

“Hello Doug Sounds like one beautiful bartop!! When it comes to protection, BLO and pure tung oil are pretty similar. One thing they have in common is that neither one offers a great deal of protection. If you had to choose, I would say to go for the BLO, since the pure tung oil will take longer to cure. BLO does have a tendency to “yellow” a wood over time, but that is a non-issue with walnut.

Now obviously your son is the boss here. But indulge me while I make a small suggestion. I can totally understand why he doesn’t want a film finish. I can’t stand the way they layer those thick finishes on bar tops. They should have just used something made of plastic, instead of wood. But there is a compromise between the plastic look, and the natural (unprotected) look. Just to clarify, BLO will certainly be better than nothing at all. But for a bartop, your son might regret this decision after the first few spills.

So my suggestion would be to try to achieve the best of both worlds. Give the bar top a very natural-looking finish, while imparting a great deal more protection than an oil alone. There are a few products on the market today that contain oil and varnish together. These are products like Watco Danish Oil and Waterlox. Because there is so much oil in the mix, you would have to put on about 5 or 6 coats before you really notice a finish “building”. But applying 2-3 coats will give you a really nice and natural look, while protecting the surface with varnish at the same time. And if you go with matte or satin formulas, I think your son will be even happier with the results. The great part about it is, you can look at the surface after each coat and determine whether or not you want to add another coat. Dilute the mix with mineral spirits if you want even more control. And also keep in mind you can simply make your own mixture by mixing 1/3 mineral spirits, 1/3 BLO, and 1/3 polyurethane. Maybe go a little heavy on the oil just to be on the safe side.

Either way, make sure you sand lightly between coats to keep the finish nice and smooth. After the final coat, either sand with 1200 grit paper or buff with 0000 steel wool. The wood will not only look natural, but will easily repel the occasional spill.”

Comments

5 Responses to “Natural Looking Bartop Finish? - Question of the Week”

  1. Mike on December 13th, 2006 6:11 am

    Now that is some great advise. I think your spot on suggesting Watco or Waterlox. I have one further suggestion for Doug. Get three pieces of scrap and go through the entire finishing process with BLO, Watco(or Waterlox) as reccomended, and Poly(which will be rejected). Have your son pick the finish he wants after a few tests of glass rings, scratches and beer spills. It might change his mind.

  2. Tim on November 26th, 2007 8:03 pm

    I am working on a similar project, so it’s really great that I found this discussion. In my case, I am working with 8/4 Sapele and the finished product is destined for the butler’s pantry. I plan to make the occasional sandwich on it and am wondering if the finish suggestions are the same. I still don’t want a plastic film finish, but require a food-safe surface and don’t know if tung oil or BLO is food safe. Someone had recommended mineral oil over a couple coats of shellac. Any thoughts?

  3. thewoodwhisperer on November 26th, 2007 11:43 pm

    Hey Tim. I probably wouldn’t use BLO or tung oil alone on a food surface. I prefer film finishes or simply mineral oil. Now there is no reason at all to apply mineral oil over a shellac surface. The oil will never absorb and the surface will just be oily all the time. So if you are looking for a decent finish that doesnt look to plasticy, then the above recommendation would be perfectly find for your project.

  4. beth on February 9th, 2008 4:30 pm

    I am having my Contractor build a bar out of reclaimed bar walls form an English Pub. I am not sure and he has admitted that he has never build a bar so him and my husband are experimenting. However, I want a wood top for both the prep area (lower) and service area (upper). Any suggestions on how to build the bar top? Please help!

  5. thewoodwhisperer on February 9th, 2008 5:35 pm

    Hi Beth. There are so many ways a bartop can be built and the materials are just as varied. I would start by doing a Google search for bartop construction. If you are looking to build a lamination of solid wood, it is really all the same principals behind building a cutting board. Just bigger. :)

    I just did a little Googling myself and there are a number of resources that show the construction of a bar, so you should have no trouble getting good ideas.

    If you have any specific questions going forward, please feel free to email me.

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