SEALING BUTCHER BLOCK COUNTERTOPS (2024)

I have been living with my butcher block countertops for a few years now. Do you remember this awesome kitchen makeover? This kitchen update is one of my favorites of all!

TodayI am sharing my thoughts on how we like our butcher blocks, what we have learned, and how we sealed the surface of our butcher block countertops. Maybe this info will come handy for you if you decide to go that route one day or if you already have butcher blocks, but you haven’t sealed them. If you perhaps still thinking and leaning more towards marble countertops, check out THIS post.

Butcher Block Countertops are good countertops?

I think they are! I love the warmth, look, and feel of it and, I would install them over and over again.

But we learned along the way that just the oil that penetrates the wood won’t make it for us. I wanted to seal the counter with something that would make the surface waterproof.

Living with my counters for a while definitely made me want to waterproof it for a few reasons:

We had areas, the hard working areas, and around the sink – where the wood started to darken in patches. All you need is water for mold to appear and grow and I think that’s what happened in our case.
It’s much easier to keep the surface clean when it’s waterproof. No worries about wine spills!! Heck yeah!

What is the best finish for butcher block countertops?

There are many options out there. We treated ourcounters with wood oil for months – we used the retailer suggested wood oil, and we used the method they recommended. After installation, we applied oil every two days (YES!), then every week, then every two weeks, then every month and then six months after. It needed lots of attention, and it’s was a heckof a lot of work!

While the oil would bring out the color and luster of the wood and allow you direct contact with the warmth and distinctive texture of the wood – I could not love it!

Anytime I placed a can on the counter, it left a significant mark, and I hated it.

HOW TO SEAL BUTCHER BLOCK COUNTERTOPS

So the first thing we did was that we sanded the counters well until it was clean! We used a Ryobi sander.

After an hour of sending and four numb hands(!), we had the counter smoothened and cleaned out.

We vacuumed the dirt off the surface and applied one coat of natural stain. The one below.

One coat of stain would make the surface waterproof itself, and it gave our counter a beautifulfinish, but based on my friend’s suggestion, the stain wasn’t going to be enough.

We then usedPolyurethane and applied a thick coat on the top of the stain.

Polyurethanefor butcher block countertops.

Polyurethaneis a liquid coating that dries into a plastic film and is excellent for sealing the countertop, but then there’s a layer of plastic between you and your pretty new wood.

We chose the fast-drying product, so shortly after the first coat was dry, we were able to apply the second coat as well.

The smellin the room was strong, so we left the house for a few hours.

The outcome was great. I love that I can spill anything on my counter without worrying about it now. It was a straightforward, few steps that we should have done for a long time.

What do you think? Will you try this method?

KITCHEN CABINET COLORS:

Upper cabinets: BEHR-Ultra white

Lower Cabinets: BEHR-Night Club

If you want to get on some organizing projects, be sure to check out the OPEN PANTRY that I tackled not too long ago, or if you are feeling to DIY something easy this weekend, be sure to check out this EASY DIY PICTURE FRAMEor this IKEA TV STAND HACK tutorial.

Do you love the style of my kitchen? Here are a few things you can grab to mimic this style and look! ( affiliate links- read my disclosure here!)

Thanks for visiting today!

I hope you will stick around for more awesomeness!

Cheers,

Aniko