A Comprehensive Comparison of All Wood Worktop Oils

Last Updated on September 16, 2024

How to choose the Best Wood Worktop Oil?

With the lack of sufficient protection, the beauty of the wooden worktops can easily fade away to become a disastrous kitchen surface. Although there is a myriad of wood worktop oils to choose from, not all of them can provide the utmost protection and longevity to the timber while also ensuring safety against food and beverage spillages. So how do we choose the best wooden surface Oil?

Here are is a comprehensive comparison of all solid wood worktop oils often recommended for treatment of timber products:

1. Olive Oil – the most ancient method!

Olive Oil is most commonly used in the treatment of wooden surfaces, more specifically wooden chopping boards. Although it has the ability to highlight the natural colors of the timber, when it comes to wooden worktops it remains insufficient in providing the sufficient protection. When it comes to wooden worktops, unveiling the true grain character of the timber is insufficient, an oil’s primary duty is to ensure the wood worktop is protected from moisture, aggressive stains and physical damage.

Pros:

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Check out our Oak worktops

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• Highlights the natural color and grain structure of the wooden worktop.
• Provides some protection against moisture and water, ideal for chopping boards, but it is still recommend to avoid high humidity
  

Cons:

• Insufficient moisture protection in the long term.
• Always wet on touch, so it can be uncomfortable to work with.
• Facilitates bacteria growth due to the humidity, it is vital to do a routine clean up at this point.

2. Linseed Oil – The main ingredient found in all most popular Oils!

Pure linseed oil can penetrate the timber worktop better than any other natural oil hence it is quite suitable in the treatment of hardwood worktops. Although it is excellent in penetrating the pores, the process can take some time. After it has penetrated, the rub-in oils will naturally dry and seal the worktop pores to form a very even and perfect surface. These oils provide the base for many popular worktop oils, but with the addition of extra salts and added chemicals to help the curing process. The infamous Danish Oil is one of them.

Pros:

• Penetrates the timber effectively
• Once it penetrates the pores, it seals them and protects the worktop from interacting with the moisture in the air and hence buckling up.
• Provides a suitable protection against water and moisture once enough layers have been stacked up.

Cons:

• Long Drying Time.
• Requires multiple coatings to build up the protective barrier (Note: this is rather easy and pleasant activity).
• Requires reoiling and maintenance on a regular basis. The wooden worktop will need to be re-oiled every 2-3 months – This can be even more if the “activity” that is taking place on the kitchen worktop is high.

3. Danish Oil – The most popular Choice

As mentioned before, linseed oil is suitable natural oil that is used as an ingredient for many other related products. Danish Oil is one of them – it is a mixture of polymerized linseed oil, varnish and drying agents, which combine to achieve a hard-wearing and water-resistant finish for wooden worktops. Danish oil is one of the most popular choices when it comes to oiling wooden worktops. Overall, it is an improved version of the Linseed Oil, as it also contains varnish and different drying agents, which help for a more hard-wearing surface and shorter drying times.

Pros:

• It penetrates the timber and the pores
• It seals the pores and protects the worktop from interacting with the moisture in the air and hence from buckling up.
• Provides a suitable protection against water and moisture once enough layers have been stacked up.
• Creates a hard-wearing surface

Cons:

• Multiple Layers need to be stacked to create a sufficient and strong protective barrier.
• Regular Maintenance and reoiling is needed -once every 3 months – it can be more depending on the activity that takes place in the kitchen – the wear and tear effect. To find out when the wooden worktops needs re-oiling, check out our guide When should you Re-Oil your Wooden Worktop?
• The surface can become sticky and unpleasant if thick coats are applied.

4. Teak Oil – Natural and glossy

Contrary to its name, teak oil in fact does not actually contain any oils or reminiscent of the teak tree. Many products are referred to as “teak oil” because they are marketed for use on teak and other similar timbers. Teak oils’ composition may vary but it is most often based upon a mixture of linseed oil, varnish, and mineral spirits. Many types of teak oil provide a good protective barrier for wooden worktops, but will often create a glossy sheet that – in our opinion – does not accentuate the beauty of hardwood timber worktop and looks artificial.

Pros:

• Forms a durable and strong protective barrier
• Penetrates the timber and its pores and hence seals them to provide additional protection against moisture

Cons:

• Creates a glossy surface which can become inconsistent as the wooden worktop wears and tears on certain areas.
• The Glossy Surface doesn’t accentuate the beauty of the hardwood, on the contrary makes the wooden worktop look artificial and unnatural.
• Requires regular maintenance and re-oiling.

5. Osmo Oil – Our Favorite! ❤️

Osmo Top Oil is a hard-wearing treatment specially formulated to protect your wooden kitchen worktop surface with a semi-matt appeal. Its highly hardwearing oil which has a natural microporous natural hardwax-oil wood finish. It is extremely moisture and water repelling and dirt resistant. The finish is resistant against wine, beer, cola, coffee, tea, fruit juices, milk, water and food particles. These types of liquid spillages will tightly bead on the surface without leaving any marks and can be simply cleaned by wiping with a cloth.

Osmo Top Oil requires minimal preparation before application. The product can easily be applied late at night, left to dry and will be ready to use the following morning. With an attractive luster, this product is available in clear satin, clear matt, acacia and natural tones.

Pros:

• Extremely tough and hard-wearing seal which protects against aggressive stains such as wine, fruit juices and etc.
• Seals the wooden worktop whilst allowing it to breath
• Easy to apply
• Only 3 Coats needed to form the perfect protective barrier.
• Food safe
• Needs minimal maintenance and re-oiling only once a year (the time period might vary depending on the wear-and-tear effect on the kitchen wooden worktop.

Cons:

• Slightly longer drying times

Conclusion

Timber materials and wooden worktops have always been at the heart of English Home’s and Kitchens. There is even an old saying “England was built on Oak”. However, just like anything else that is part of the nature, the wood worktops needs to be cared for and maintained on a regular basis in order to preserve their character, liveliness and colors.

There are a wide variety of oils out there that are recommended for treating wooden worktops, however each one has its own application instructions, its own advantages and disadvantages. So, the question remains, how do we choose the right wood worktop oil?

Olive Oil is the most ancient method, but it is definitely not the right choice, if you want to protect your worktop. Teak Oi is a reasonable option which provides sufficient protection, but does not accentuate the colors of the timber, so if you want to show off with your symbolic Solid Oak Kitchen Worktop or characterful Walnut Wooden Worktop, Teak Oil is probably not the right choice for you! Linseed Oil is a very effective timber oil, but Danish Oil does contain Linseed Oil and it is an elaborated version of it. So Danish Oil is one of the most popular choices, as it easily penetrates the pores of the wood, accentuates the colors and grain pattern and most importantly provides a durable protective barrier to the wooden worktop. Nevertheless, it does require multiple coatings and a regular maintenance.

Our favorite choice is Osmo Oil. The oil needs only three coats and it creates the perfect hard-wearing and durable surface, whilst highlighting the unique features of your wooden worktop. The resulting surface is resistant to aggressive stains such as wine and fruit juices and it only requires re-oiling once a year, depending on how active you are in the kitchen. Most importantly, it is extremely easy to apply, just brush in the direction of the grain and disperse equally on the worktop. The only disadvantage that it has it long drying times 6-8 hours for each coat. However, we definitely think that his is a small price to pay for the relief that you will feel once you oil your wooden worktop with Osmo Oil.