01
Solid oak, Wood Finishing Oil
The most common kitchen worktop, and the most versatile oil: three coats warm the oak by a shade of honey and give it a living matt that repels water. Oak tannins do not like standing water: wipe around the sink.
Help with woodcare How-to guides
How to oil a wooden worktop
A wooden worktop is oiled in three coats of Wood Finishing Oil, Pure Tung Oil or Food Safe Oil, on bare, dry wood sanded to 180 grit at most. Each coat goes on generously, soaks for 5 to 10 minutes, is wiped along the grain, then — the rule that decides everything — all the oil still wet is wiped off at 20 minutes, or it goes tacky. Next coat after 12 to 18 hours. Afterwards, a maintenance coat as soon as water stops beading, every 3 to 6 months depending on use. For a harder film, Hard Wax Oil Natural is the alternative.
Page updated September 2026 · by the Mylands France woodcare specialists
Why an oil
What an oil does to a worktop
A worktop lives under knives, water, heat and vinegar. A film would protect it, but every cut would open it and the whole thing would need redoing. An oil goes into the fibres instead of covering them: the wood still feels like wood, it repels water, and a mark is repaired locally, with a cloth, without sanding the whole top. It has always been the finish for worktops, tables and chopping boards.
Three oils in the range suit. Wood Finishing Oil, tung-based, the all-purpose interior oil made for worktops, tables and furniture in constant use. Pure Tung Oil, a drying oil resistant to heat, water, alcohol, food and acids, for a kitchen or bathroom worktop. Food Safe Oil, tasteless and odourless, for chopping boards, butcher's blocks and salad bowls. All three are applied the same way; only Hard Wax Oil Natural follows a different method, described below, for anyone who wants a harder film.
The method
Oiling a worktop in seven moves
Three days for three coats, 12 to 18 hours apart, in a temperate kitchen: an oil does not dry in the cold.
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01
Bare, dry wood, sanded to 180 at most
The worktop must be bare, free of any film-forming finish, and below 18% moisture. Sand with 120 then 180 grit, never finer: burnished wood stops drinking. On an oily exotic timber, iroko or teak, degrease first with Cellulose Thinners.
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02
Dust off, and think of the edges
Vacuum, then tack cloth. The front edge, the sink cut-out and the hob cut-out are end grain: they drink more than the face and are the first to suffer from water. They get the same attention at every coat.
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03
Apply generously, let it soak for 5 to 10 minutes
With a brush or a clean cotton cloth, spread the Wood Finishing Oil liberally, without economy, over the whole surface. Let the wood drink for 5 to 10 minutes; where it takes everything, put more oil on.
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04
Wipe the excess along the grain
With a clean cloth, take off the surplus following the grain, leaving only a thin, even film. The top should look nourished and uniform, with no shiny patch.
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05
At 20 minutes, wipe off all the oil still wet
The critical step. With a fresh, dry cloth, wipe away every bit of oil left on the surface. Anything that dried on top would become thick and tacky, and would only come off with sanding.
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06
Rags into water, then 12 to 18 hours of waiting
Oily rags can ignite on their own: soak them in a bucket of water or lay them flat outside. Let the coat dry for 12 to 18 hours, then start again: three coats are needed for full durability.
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07
Upkeep every 3 to 6 months, as soon as water stops beading
The test: a drop of water should bead. When it spreads, clean the worktop and wipe on a thin coat of fresh oil, always with the 20-minute rule. Depending on use, every 3 to 6 months.
Four worktops
Which oil for which worktop
02
Walnut island, Pure Tung Oil
On an island where you cook and eat, Pure Tung Oil resists heat, water, alcohol and acids, and is suitable for food contact. It deepens the brown of walnut without yellowing it. Three coats, 12 to 18 hours between each.
03
Boards and butcher's block, Food Safe Oil
For whatever touches food: chopping boards, a butcher's block, turned salad bowls. Food Safe Oil is tasteless and odourless; same method, same 20-minute rule, and a maintenance coat as soon as the board looks dry after washing.
04
Solid oak, Hard Wax Oil Natural
The alternative for anyone who wants a harder film: the oil penetrates, the wax hardens at the surface, spill proof. A different method from the oils: two thin coats 24 hours apart, excess removed at once, full cure in 7 to 10 days.
In one table
Four products, four uses
| Product | Food contact | The look | Rhythm |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wood Finishing Oil, 250 ml | A worktop in everyday use; for boards, prefer Food Safe Oil | Warm matt, nourished wood | Three coats at 12-18 h; upkeep every 3 to 6 months |
| Pure Tung Oil, 250 ml | Yes: worktops, table tops, boards, toys | Deep matt, resists heat, water, acids | Three coats at 12-18 h; upkeep as soon as water stops beading |
| Food Safe Oil, 500 ml | Yes: boards, butcher's blocks, bowls | Natural, tasteless and odourless | Three coats at 12-18 h; upkeep after repeated washing |
| Hard Wax Oil Natural, 1 L | Safe for family environments; not a chopping-board oil | Harder matt film, spill proof | Two thin coats at 24 h; cure 7 to 10 days; a thin coat when the surface dulls |
All the oils: bare wood, 180 grit at most, moisture below 18%. The rest of the kitchen — cabinet fronts, shelves, floor — is in Wood in kitchens and bathrooms.
To avoid
What spoils an oiled worktop
- Letting the oil dry on the surface. Past 20 minutes, what has not penetrated becomes thick and tacky, attracts dust and only comes off with sanding. Everything off, at 20 minutes, no exceptions.
- Rags rolled into a ball. An oily rag heats as it dries and can ignite on its own. A bucket of water, or flat outside.
- Sanding beyond 180. The wood burnishes, the oil sits on top. 180 is a maximum, not a minimum.
- Oiling a damp worktop. Above 18% — a top delivered in the rain, wood washed the day before — the oil neither penetrates nor dries.
- Forgetting the edges and the sink cut-out. End grain is where water gets in and where the top turns black.
- Waiting until the wood greys. The maintenance coat is done when water stops beading, not once the wood is already dry and stained.
Frequently asked
Your questions, our answers
Which oil around the sink?
Pure Tung Oil, resistant to water, heat and acids, or Hard Wax Oil Natural for a spill-proof film. Either way, take care of the sink cut-out, which is end grain, and wipe up standing water: no oil replaces a cloth.
How often should I re-oil?
Every 3 to 6 months depending on use, or more simply as soon as water stops beading on the surface. The maintenance coat is quick: clean, a thin coat of oil with a cloth, a full wipe at 20 minutes. No need to wait for the wood to grey.
My worktop has stayed tacky: what now?
The oil dried on the surface instead of penetrating, for lack of the 20-minute wipe or because the wood was too fine or too damp. Wipe hard with a dry cloth; if the oil has already hardened, sand lightly with 180 grit, dust off and apply a fresh coat, keeping to the 20-minute rule.
Can I put a hot dish on it?
Pure Tung Oil resists heat; Wood Finishing Oil and Food Safe Oil protect mainly from water; but the wood itself marks under a scorching dish. A trivet stays the rule, and a light mark is recovered with local sanding at 180 and a coat of oil.
Oil or Hard Wax Oil: which for a worktop?
Oil for a top you want to feel as wood, repair with a cloth and re-oil without thinking about it. Hard Wax Oil Natural for a harder, spill-proof film, in two thin coats 24 hours apart and 7 to 10 days of cure. For chopping boards, always Food Safe Oil or Pure Tung Oil.
See also
Further reading
“Generous on, everything off at twenty minutes: an oil does not let itself be forgotten on wood.”
