[sjackso8]

I'm not sure if this is the right place to post this question and I'm sure that it's either been answered already or is such a no-brainer that I should already know the answer but here it goes anyway. We just bought all of our kitchen materials but won't be installing for about 3 weeks. Since I have the time to kill, would it be a good idea to oil the counters now or should this be done after it's cut into pieces and installed?

[Kayla]

I've never seen the topic. I have both thicknesses of countertops and man do I wish I'd thought of doing it pre-install. We live in a hectic house and i've had to do sections at a time. it sucks! somebody else might come up with a brilliant reason why you shouldn't do it before, but i think as long as you're careful and then maybe do a final coat after install you'll be great. what oil are you using? in the end we used tung oil and i'm thrilled with the look, but again, wish it wasn't so hectic around here.....

[sjackso8]

I'm not sure yet but I think we'll use Tung oil as that seems to be the consensus here. I want a rich shiny color but I'll be happy as long as the finish is even and the water beads up on it.

[Emmie9999]

Well, I have NO experience with this issue, but here are my questions that might point towards why not to do it:

*will the oil make the surface swell at all, interfering with fitting it into place?
* will it make the surface more slick to handle when installing?
* will it be harder to cut, or gum up the blades of whatever power tool must trim it when it is trimmed?
*when it is trimmed, will sawdust stick to the pre-oiled surface and make a mess?
* will it interfere with any adhesives that might need to be used?

If the answer to any of these is "yes", I would hold off and oil when it's installed. If all the answers are "no", then I cannot think of any reasons why you should wait.

I cannot blame you at all...waiting for something to do can be horrible, especially when the item is sitting right in front of you! I'd want to rub it down every day! Walk behind the installers and oil it as you go, if you do have to wait.

Take care,
Emmie

[GardenOfDarwin]

Tung Oil Disclaimer - Tung oil is derived from the nut of the Tung tree, hence, it is a tree nut. If you or any of your loved ones have any tree nut allergies, you may wish to refrain from using Tung oil in your application. Word to the wise.

/disclaimer

Susan

[Tigratrus]

It's probably best to give the wood some time to acclimate to the humidity level in your house before you oil it with tung oil. Other than that, Emmie raised a pretty good list of questions. Keep in mind that tung oil can take a LONG time to fully cure, especially the first few coats. Might be best to wait until it's installed and you're not going to have a lot of dust flying around? If you do decide to pre-finish I'd keep the coats very thin so they have enough time to fully dry.

Are you installing it or is it being done by contractors? If it's being done by someone else you might get in touch with them and see what they think? And let us know how it turns out, this sounds like a good addendum to the wood counters knowledgebase .

James

[dtlyme]

Yikes on the Tree nut issue!!! My son has dairy and egg allergies (severe) tested negative to peanuts and tree nuts but I was told to avoid them anyway. My nephew does have a peanut and Tree nut allergy and he is anaphylactic to it. So this makes me EXTREMELY nervous.

What are my other finish options for the countertops?

thank you so very much for the heads up!

-Dana

[fisheggs]

I know a few people have had good results with mineral oil and/or mixtures of beeswax. Plus, then your counter smells like beeswax!

[Sugar]

Tung oil? Uh oh. Mine is still sitting in the plastic, and won't go in for quite awhile.

I was only planning to mineral oil it multiple times and then start whacking on it (which is how I treat all my butcher block cutting boards currently).

I have decided to use it for a temporary (year or so) island topper (or maybe forever, knowing me and as a cutting board on one end, bread making on the other. So asethically, it will not be pristine.

Why tung oil instead?

[GardenOfDarwin]

Tung oil "hardens" and lasts longer than mineral oil. We applied about 10 coats of Tung Oil to our beech top over a year ago, and have added only a couple of coats one time. It's my baking counter, and I have used it frequently for baking bread (i.e. mucho kneading, etc.).

Mineral oil is fine as well, but would probably need to be re-applied more frequently, and could possibly add a little extra oil to your baked goods. FWIW , I use mineral oil on my boards as well, but the countertop gets Tunged.

I trust you read the disclaimer about Tung Oil being from the nut of the Tung tree, and thereby is a tree nut, which doesn't affect you unless you or a loved one have allergies to tree nuts.

Susan

	FWIW definition FWIW means For What It's Worth