Varnished kitchen worktop in lousy condition - which sander please?

[Distinterior]

Whichever random orbital sander you decide to use....remember the 6 most important words....dust extraction, dust extraction, dust extraction!!!!

Take a pencil and lightly randomly draw all over the wood surface so that you can see where you've sanded. Once the pencil mark's have gone, use the pencil again, moving on to the next grit.
Use the highest quality abrasive you can afford and work your way up through the grits making sure to clean/ sweep the worktop inbetween changing grits.
Dont be tempted to want to sand to too high a grit..... If the surface is too smooth, the oil wont tend to penetrate as it should.
I use a Scotchbrite pad ( White) on my sander to apply the oil and it leaves a nice consistent finish.

I'm fortunate that I have Festool tools for a job like this and the package of a couple of their sanders and a speed adjustable auto dust extractor, make a job like sanding solid surface & wooden worktops a doddle.

If the original varnish/oil is a really heavy coating, then as suggested, use a cabinet scraper to remove the worst but be careful not to marr the wood too much or you will end up creating far more work for yourself during the sanding procedure.

Hope this helps.

Tim.

 

[Distinterior]

Reading this post with interest, I'm going to re do my worktop.
Does that RMO actually seal it? And how often do you do yours?
I used Osmo oil on a brand new worktop 18 months ago, I wasn't too happy with it .

I was sceptical of the Rubio at first but was assured by the company that supplied me with the worktops that this is what they recommended.
Never had a callback yet.

I dont have wooden worktops in my kitchen and never would....I have supplied and fitted them for Clients over the years at their request, but I always try and talk them out of it. They do require maintenance and proper care and unless you are willing to do so on a regular basis, they will deteriorate and end up looking poor. They are not a fit & forget surface such as a Quartz or Granite or even Laminate type work surface.

 

[Beanwood]

You will regret the day you were born, using a belt sander is a definite no

I agree - DAMHIK

I now have some very poor kitchen worktops - and I regret it every day I see them.

 

[rs6mra]

see what you make of this?


I have always loathed doing my worktops but it was a joy to use the abrasive mesh pads. I have always used Danish oil over the years and wood does indeed require regular maintenance.
This time around I used the Osmo for the first time and my initial thoughts so far is that it is better than the Danish oil after applying 3 coats. Danish oil in my view requires more applications and I do like the finish.

 

[Vintage]

see what you make of this?


I have always loathed doing my worktops but it was a joy to use the abrasive mesh pads. I have always used Danish oil over the years and wood does indeed require regular maintenance.
This time around I used the Osmo for the first time and my initial thoughts so far is that it is better than the Danish oil after applying 3 coats. Danish oil in my view requires more applications and I do like the finish.

Great video, thanks for sharing, and so comprehensible, off to get the sander and mesh pads. Fingers crossed

 

[paulrbarnard]

I use a scraper and finish with OSMO on our oak tops. I do it every couple of years. Never used a sander on it as I don’t have one.

Edit: I tell a lie it is not OSMO it is a branded worktop oil from the company who supplied the worktops, Howdens. I used OSMO for the doors and other bits and pieces.

 

[C64]

Another vote for the humble scraper. I use the Bahco 665, just make sure the blade edge is sharp. Any paint or varnish removal is first tackled with that with medium pressure. It’s much more efficient than sanding that has its attendant dust, noise, paper clogging up and sheer boredom.

 

[Vintage]

I use a scraper and finish with OSMO on our oak tops. I do it every couple of years. Never used a sander on it as I don’t have one.

Edit: I tell a lie it is not OSMO it is a branded worktop oil from the company who supplied the worktops, Howdens. I used OSMO for the doors and other bits and pieces.

After watching that video, I've decided I'm going to buy a sander and the net pads he (and others) recommended, he made it look really easy, I would imagine the worktop oils are pretty much all the same, I was looking at Rustins too, but as I've still got a nearly a full tin of Osmo oil I'll try that again,
I have Osmo oil on the wooded floor which seems ok, apart from the obvious wear... Dreading doing that

 

[bobblezard]

I'd recommended the Metabo SXE 450 as an option, within budget and more than capable of the worktop work. Had mine 3 years, never regretted it.

Having scraped and sanded back the Osmo on my worktops I've gone for Danish Oil, yes you do need LOTS of coats to start and it does need topping up at times, but this is easy, can be done in small patches at a time ( i.e the bits most in use) and it 'pops" the wood and makes it shine so beautifully compared to the pretty dull Osmo.

However I know this is a matter of preference and some would definitely not recommend this....

 

[Vintage]

Thanks for your replies
Quick quesyion: why would you use and orbital sander?
Can't get my head around using an orbital sander on a wooden work top surely not!? Obviously you have to ago with the grain not against

 

[sometimewoodworker]

Thanks for your replies
Quick quesyion: why would you use and orbital sander?
Can't get my head around using an orbital sander on a wooden work top surely not!? Obviously you have to ago with the grain not against

No. You want to keep (or make) the surface flat and a rotary or orbital sander does that. For sanding profiles you a linear sander.

 

[Vintage]

No. You want to keep (or make) the surface flat and a rotary or orbital sander does that. For sanding profiles you a linear sander.

Ooooh OK.. but won't it leave circular marks though? Thank you for your reply... and patience!

 

[sometimewoodworker]

Ooooh OK.. but won't it leave circular marks though? Thank you for your reply... and patience!

Theoretically, Yes, but if you have used the correct grades of paper in the correct order, not going for 60 to 220 for example, you will never see them.

 

[paulrbarnard]

Ironically my wife asked me to do ours this morning. I just used a cabinet scraper to remove the old surface and deal with some scratches and water rings. It took me a about an hour and I’ve just put on the first coat of oil finish. It’s looking great. I’ve now got a three hour wait until I can do the seconds coat.

 

[Sideways]

does anyone have any details of these please?

Sadly I think gog64 has been fed misinformation.
There really aren't "101 variants of the Mirka Deros" out there - unless I'm utterly clueless when it comes to searching the internet (which my kids would surely agree with )
Metabo sell the Deros in their trademark green and under their own part number. That's the only one I've ever found. It's cheaper than the original but over £100 beyond the OP's budget.
I'm also interested in the answer.

 

[sometimewoodworker]

Ironically my wife asked me to do ours this morning. I just used a cabinet scraper to remove the old surface and deal with some scratches and water rings. It took me a about an hour and I’ve just put on the first coat of oil finish. It’s looking great. I’ve now got a three hour wait until I can do the seconds coat. View attachment 105801

That is the ideal way to deal with a currently flat surface, though the skill level is above beginner, possibly a bit more of a challenge with one that needs flattening though.

 

[Doug71]

Sadly I think gog64 has been fed misinformation.
There really aren't "101 variants of the Mirka Deros" out there - unless I'm utterly clueless when it comes to searching the internet (which my kids would surely agree with )
Metabo sell the Deros in their trademark green and under their own part number. That's the only one I've ever found. It's cheaper than the original but over £100 beyond the OP's budget.
I'm also interested in the answer.

I think these will be the type of sanders that were meant by the 101 variants of the Deros.

 

[paulrbarnard]

That is the ideal way to deal with a currently flat surface, though the skill level is above beginner, possibly a bit more of a challenge with one that needs flattening though.

For sure. For a new worktop or one with heavy water damage a sander is a good starting point. For refinishing though I find the scraper approach to be fast, effective and clean. I had a few sizeable dings to deal with but just used a heavy scraper to take them out. Most of the surface just needed a light scrape to get a clean surface for the oil.

 

[C64]

Mirka have the Deros available in 2.5mm, 5mm or 8mm oscillation versions depending on how aggressive you want the sanding to be (for a given grit). Mine must be about 8 years old and still works great. Apart from Abranet and saver pads, the only other thing I had to replace was the power cord which is/was a known failure item. Mirka has now changed the cord so it is rewireable as opposed to becoming landfill fodder previously.

 

[DBT85]

Probably late to this part I did our 11 ish meters of oak top in osmo 3032 5 years ago and I've not touched them since. Have since used it on 2 bits of oak in bathrooms and 2 bits in my utility. Great stuff though it pongs a bit when you apply it thought probably less than lots of other stuff. I'm just used to water based stuff!

Only issue we've ever had was one particular oven cleaner leaving a black stain. But rubbing back and re coating fixed it.