Something more 'rustic' than Danish for oak worktops?

[Flying Swan]

Hi folks,

First post here. Howdy. I've just finished installing 40mm full stave oak worktops in our new kitchen and have coated them with Danish oil. However, my wife is very unhappy with how they've come out. In her mind, she had very rustic looking worktops - the kind you'd expect to see on Jamie Oliver Cooking From Home type show.

Her primary complaints are:

• It's too orange
  
  It's too shiny
  
  It looks almost like laminate, but a lot more expensive

I think she essentially wants them to look freshly sanded. So I'm thinking of sanding them back and wondering if anyone has any advice on another matt finish with decent protective properties that will retain some of the rawness of the wood without altering the colour too much?

Any advice greatly appreciated.

 

[ED65]

Danish oils do vary quite a bit from brand to brand and another one might be noticeably less coloured than the one you used, but regardless all oil-based finishes will tend to add a somewhat amber colouring to wood. If you have a scrap of the oak wipe it with white spirit and see what colour the oak turns, and that's with something that hasn't got the least hint of colour of its own. So I think you'll have to discount any penetrating finish.

One of the things most commonly used for retaining that 'bare wood' look is a matt water-bourne polyurethane. With any clear matt finish applied thinly it literally does look like there's nothing on the wood, but you do need more than a thin coating to provide a decent level of protection from spills, sweaty glasses and other liquids. Three coats is about the minimum you can usually get away with, but it does depend on the exact product you use because they can vary considerably in what's called their solids content (which you can think of as being how concentrated they are). However many coats are needed it won't quite look like there's nothing on the wood at all, but it's not too bad. Be aware than a thicker matt coating does slightly obscure the grain of the wood.

Just to let you know this upfront, there is an additional problem that'll occur over time: matt finishes are subject to burnishing on areas of high wear, so principally along edges and at corners it'll naturally buff up to a higher shine with use which spoils the pristine matt look the thing has when new. No way around this unfortunately.

 

[Flying Swan]

Thanks ED65. Could you give some branded examples of a matt water-bourne polyurethane? I've just been looking at Osmo top oil (natural). Looks like it might give the effect I'm after?

Also, how much effort do you think it's going to take to sand off the Danish oil? Just applied over the past few days so won't be fully cured. Will an orbital sander do it? I don't need to get it back to new condition, just a few shades lighter I reckon.

I was also thinking of not sanding to a super fine grit this time... leaving it a little rougher might enhance the rustic effect. Thoughts?

 

[undergroundhunter]

A sander will be messy (unless you have good dust extraction. I would use a cabinet scraper to remove the bulk then just give it a fine finish sand by hand. As to a product as has been said there is no set recipe for Danish oil so a different brand would probably give different results, I personally would use an osmo product I used their hard wax oil on an oak table I made last year and the finish is perfect, very tactile and low sheen.

Matt

 

[oakmitre]

Have you clarified what your wife means by 'rustic'.

I have typed 'rustic worktop' into google images, it seems mainly to be a term that worktop manufacturers are using to describe slabs made from slightly mismatched staves glued together as one slab. These however are still finished to a very high standard. There is a huge variation of 'rustic' effects - but they do seem to lean towards the top end. I tend to think of rustic as more rough

If you scrape and the sand back the existing finish, then use a clear colourless finish that will look okay. If you try to stain the wood you could end up with unevenness that does not fit the bracket of rustic due to any residue of the previous finish in the pores.

 

[NazNomad]

Slap some creosote on it, or old engine oil... Then ask her to define 'rustic'. :-D

She'll beg you to put the Danish oil back on. ;-)

To me, a rustic kitchen worktop would be bleached & scrubbed to within an inch of its life.

 

[Flying Swan]

Yes, I've tried to explain that it will look rustic as soon as she stops looking after it. But there you go.

Are you being serious with the bleaching option - because I think that's closer to what she wants. On reflection, oak probably wasn't the best choice of material! I've seen some wood bleach online but just the name scares me.

I've just sanded it back a bit, and it's already looking closer to her mental imagine. What's left of the oil is helping to define some character in the grain (what I want), but it's a few shades lighter and no sheen. Any reviews of Osmo TopOIl natural. Closest thing I've seen to a matt finish that won't tiny the wood further.

 

[Phil Pascoe]

Explain that she can have it as rustic as she wishes - but it'll look even more "rustic" when it's covered with blue/black stains. It's oak, it'll happen if not protected properly.

 

[Droogs]

IF your missus wants a very matt rustic look and is prepared to do the maintenance work needed to keep it in good condition than I would suggest trying a common scandinavian finish for kitchen furniture. it's called a soap finish. A reasonable article about it here:
http://www.artichoke-ltd.com/articles/u ... furniture/

hth

 

[bugbear]

Yes, I've tried to explain that it will look rustic as soon as she stops looking after it. But there you go.

Can you post a photo of what you have at the moment, and whatever photo (either online or from a magazine) that shows what your wife has in mind?

Then someone might be able to advise you on how to go from A to B.

BugBear

 

[AndyT]

If you want a bleached-out, well-worn look like an old kitchen table, you don't want oak.

You need a tight-grained non-porous wood. Maple or Sycamore are ideal and can look good after a century or more of daily scrubbing with hot water and a brush.

 

[ED65]

IF your missus wants a very matt rustic look and is prepared to do the maintenance work needed to keep it in good condition than I would suggest trying a common scandinavian finish for kitchen furniture. it's called a soap finish.

I was going to mention a soap finish as an option but from a test using it on a kitchen surface (a trolley which resides in the heart of the working triangle) it's not the thing to use on oak in this environment, unless as Phil joked about the OP's missus is okay with it accruing black stains over time!

 

[sploo]

Thanks ED65. Could you give some branded examples of a matt water-bourne polyurethane? I've just been looking at Osmo top oil (natural). Looks like it might give the effect I'm after?

Also, how much effort do you think it's going to take to sand off the Danish oil? Just applied over the past few days so won't be fully cured. Will an orbital sander do it? I don't need to get it back to new condition, just a few shades lighter I reckon.

I was also thinking of not sanding to a super fine grit this time... leaving it a little rougher might enhance the rustic effect. Thoughts?

I've just been in the process of installing some solid oak worktops, and got a bunch of samples from Osmo.

Their TopOil natural matt does indeed result in the finished product looking almost like it's had nothing done to it at all. In the end though I went with the TopOil matt and put some of their Wood Protector on first. Both of these latter two (especially the Wood Protector) do darken the wood; though the result with several coats of TopOil is just the tiniest hint of a sheen (much less than Danish Oil, and, I assume, their satin version of TopOil).

Sanding a DO finish is unlikely to be fun. Using a cabinet (card) scraper will likely be better btw.

 

[Phil Pascoe]

Sanding D.O. shouldn't be bad if it is BONE dry.

 

[sploo]

Sanding D.O. shouldn't be bad if it is BONE dry.

Be my guest

I'd have thought it'd still clog paper quite quickly though.

 

[Phil Pascoe]

I've sanded it on turnery quite often - as long as it is completely dry it tends to come off as powder. If there is the slightest stickiness, it's not dry. I can think of better things to sand ... but I can think of a lot worse. It's a job, whatever method - the grain of the oak will be full of the stuff.

 

[sploo]

I've sanded it on turnery quite often - as long as it is completely dry it tends to come off as powder. If there is the slightest stickiness, it's not dry. I can think of better things to sand ... but I can think of a lot worse. It's a job, whatever method - the grain of the oak will be full of the stuff.

Kitchen worktops is a lot of area to sand though; especially if it had to be done inside.

A Stanley #80 scraper would be my choice, or a card scraper. Alternatively, use a scrub plane for quick removal and a very rustic look