# Forum Home Renovation Kitchens  Wooden benchtop - what sort of eco friendly coating should I put on it?

## Sue123

Hi all  :Smilie:   
I am preparing to get a new kitchen and am in the end researching stage.  
I have decided on a Myrtle Benchtop, and am now trying to decide what sort of coating to get on it. 
My priorities are:
1) I have a 2yr old and 4yr old, and it needs to survive their damage or be cost effective to repair
2) It needs to be ok living in melbourne in a heated house in winter and evaporative cooling in summer
3) It needs to be eco friendly. Meaning no residual fumes, no residues that can get picked up putting food on the benchtop and then eating the food i.e. a kids sandwich
4) It needs to be user friendly. I don't want to have to be anal about keeping mugs off. I want to USE it.  
So according to my research so far this is what I can do  
2Pak: The company I am probably getting the benchtop from said they 2pak coat. He poo poo'd not coating it, saying it would get more damaged. He seemed to indicate not 2pak coating it, and going something more natural, would not be as good. ( I am waiting to find out whether they will put whatever ocating on there that I want)  
Another company sell a product which they called 'single pack oil based with  polyurethane in it'. Said it has a satin finish, low odour. Doesn't off gas. Is UV stabilised. There is a marine grade option. He said it was more durable than 2pak which can chip and get damaged easily, and that 2pak did not give proper servicability. The company was grimes, some of you are probably familiar with their products.  
I also spoke to Lumos. They have it seems the most natural of all the options. They recomended their countertop oil, which i would need to let cure for 4 weeks once applied b4 I use the benchtop. They said it feels more natural and doesn't contain polyurethane. It's food safe and ok to use in food prep areas.   
So my questions/concerns are: 
I want to make sure the sink area stays safe and doesn't get damaged from the frequent water exposure. Can I achieve this with a natural product or would I have to go the marine grade product? 
How dangerous is polyurethane? Is the 1pak option from Grimes a good option or would the polyurethane be an issue for me? Why would a 1pak option be that much safer than a 2pak option? Isn't it just another coating? (or am I confusing what they mean?) 
With the 2pak, if it gets damaged ist is going to be more expensive to repair. With the Lumos option, if there is any staining or damage, my husband can sand back and recoat and all is fine. I like this option, it sounds more user firendly. Certainly more cost effective to not have to pull the benchtop out down the track to clean it up a bit. But obviously we don't want to be doing this every month either! 
The 2pak company told me they polish it regularly, which surprised me as I thought it would not need anything else, but I guess it's like a cut and polish on a car? But from memory you can only do that so many times.  
I was told by some timber company that 2pak does not last well down the track on a benchtop. 
I am concerned about offgassing which 2pak apparently has - but damm it  is hard to find any info on  the net about these things like the off gassing! 
I know all these things meet the australian standard, but frankly that means nothing to me. Australia uses food additives that other countries have banned. We sell drugs that other countries don't allow. So australian standards menas nothing to me because I think the government is pretty screwed up as to what they deem safe or not.  
Help! advice etc? 
thanks heaps

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## SilentButDeadly

The Livos oil is good product. Another is Organoil Hard Burnishing Oil. There are other similar products.  I wouldn't bother with the poly products.... 
Yet another option is plain old grapeseed oil.  However I prefer to use this as the restoration coating.  A quick sand with 400 grit wet & dry paper on a quarter sheet sander and then a light coat of oil, leave for 20 minutes and sand again using the same sanding sheet (wipe the oil off it occasionally) and you'll have a rather well polished looking benchtop 
Bear in mind that you'll need to oil the benchtop all the way around before you install it.

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## jago

As SBD said oil is the way to go but it will need to be maintained to keep its lustre.  
As to dangers of poly, welll.... the rule of the thumb, generally if its stinks its not going to be good for you, and all Poly stinks. 
Our houses and lives contain lots VOC', nearly all flooring, furniture, car seats anything made from petrolchemicals TV's etc etc 
You mentioned in another post using MDF in a kitchen with Polywrap ....MDF gives off VOC from the Phenol or Urea formaldehyde which if not totally sealed (poly wrap doesn't seal the MDF) will leach, the main danger is from cutting and the dust but if you have allergies IMO not a product that should be in the house unless you can be 100% sure that the seals have not been broken.  There is plenty of net info on the short  and potential long term exposure.

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## steamboatbob

just my 2 cents but in dealing with my bosses solid benchtop (Oak 40mm thick) the first 2 years i have known this job i was sanding it annually and re-oiling it until i told him about a resin i use for my own personal work. (Scale Boat Models) 
West system epoxy which is a marine grade resin has only a slight odour for 12 hours no where near as bad as poly, it took 1 hour to apply it like fibregalss all that was required was that i Painted it on the surface.  
I have not seen that top in the workshop for 2 years now and my boss has 3 very young children 3-7 YO. the top gets used for everything and is in direct sunlight for some of the day. 
Now the weather in perth is as usual and he has evaporative aircon  and i still have not heard of it warping or any other prblems.

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## Master Splinter

Oh yea....go the epoxy...

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## Sue123

without looking it up, I'm guessing epoxy is artificial and has chemicals in it?

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## Master Splinter

Yup.  Epichlorohydrin, bisphenol-A and triethylenetetramine, typically.  When cured (say after a week or two) it is effectively inert and can be certified for storage of drinking water. 
But your α-linolenic acid (that's 100% natural linseed oil) has been linked to prostate cancer in some studies, not to mention  its content of neurotoxic cyanogen glycosides and immuno-suppressive cyclic nonapeptides.   
It's even worse if the linseed oil has been mixed with pure gum turpentine for an even more 'natural' finish, as gum turpentine contains benzene, another cancer causing agent...not to mention also containing a smattering of the chemicals that are warned about in anti smoking ads.   
And tung oil?...well it contains glycosides, too, which can cause death if sufficient quantities are consumed - and it comes from a nut, and some people have serious nut allergies... 
Oh...and in Australia, all woods are classified as carcinogenic.  Oregon - cancer.  Mahogany - cancer.  Beech - cancer. Mangrove - blindness. Oak - cancer.  Cypress pine - cancer.

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## GraemeCook

Good Morning Sue 
Unless your benchtop is huon pine, virtually all woods require that you seal all six sides of the benchtop before installation or their is a high risk of the timber buckling.  Oil finishes generally will not last as long as polyurethane and it is very difficult to renew the interior surfaces. 
Epoxy is the standard glue and surface finish in boat building;  it is real nasty until it cures, then it is basically inert.   Very strong, easy to repair, long lasting, but it hates UV - if you get direct sunlight on you bench then forget epoxy. 
Two pot polyurethane is great, extremely hard, easy to repair provided you use the same product - but one pot polyurethanes have closed the gap in recent years. 
I did a celery top pine sinktop with estapol (one pot polyurethane) about 25 years ago.   Sold place 20 years ago and, on my advice, new owner gives the bench a light sand and a fresh coat every 4-5 years.  Still going fine. 
Current house, 130 years young, has polished floors, skirtings, doors, architraves, etc - all polyurethane and very robust and easy to repair (but rarely required).  Refurbish every 8-10 years.  Furniture, bookshelves, etc, are largely done with danish oil - surprisingly tough and durable, but not quite so as poly.  Easy to refurbish. 
Desktops, dining table, etc are done with both - three coats estapol then two coats danish oil rubbed in.   Finish looks like french polish but very durable - no clouding from heat, wine, etc. 
Both the polyurethane and the danish oil contain solvents which are nasty until they cure, then they are virtually inert.   Even water contains chemicals - hydrogen and oxygen. 
Cheers 
Graeme

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## Bloss

> . . . Even water contains chemicals - hydrogen and oxygen. Cheers 
> Graeme

  Yes, but there are plans to ban that nasty Dihydrogen Monoxide . . .   snopes.com: Dihydrogen Monoxide  :Wink:

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## intertd6

Have a look at beeswax, apply using a heat gun & a rag.
regards inter

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## Master Splinter

Actually, one of our benevolent sponsor's products - U-Beaut Hard Shellac - might just be the solution you are looking for.   
You can't get more natural than lac beetle exudate; shellac has been used by people for the last 3,000 years, and it's food additive E904. It's been used for everything from finishing furniture to putting a shiny coating on sweets.   
Just don't mind the insect bits in it! (or the fact that it comes out of a bug's bum!)  Ubeaut Hard Shellac: a quick and dirty durability test - Woodwork Forums

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## chalkyt

I've come a bit late to this thread. Discovered it because I was going to ask a similar question. On balance, it looks as though one pack Polyurethane is easier to use but might need updating from time to time. Two pack seems to be pretty good and long lasting but needs a bit of skill to do a good job, and oils look like a lot of hard work and potential continual maintenance. Is that about it? 
And... watch out for that Dihydrogen Monoxide. I understand that it will even rot steel!!!

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## Master Splinter

Epoxy.

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