Waterlox Original Sealer and Finish, 1 Quart

This product works great. We decided on a butcher block kitchen countertop and after googling “best sealer”, this was recommended. Put on three coats of the primer/sealer semi gloss. Drops of water bead up and hopefully it will last a long time!

Hgrest product

I used Waterlox original finish and sealer on my IKEA Hammarp oak butcher block counters. I first sanded the counters with 220 till they were very smooth. Cleaned with tack cloth. Used a Shur-line pad painter to apply the product. It is very thin, not like paint. (I dripped a bit of Waterlox in my new stainless steel sink and am not sure how to remove it. I think you can use mineral spirits but I was worried about using that on my new sink.) Per the instructions on their website, I applied a liberal amount of Waterlox to the countertops with the pad painter using long smooth strokes. It was easy to apply and not at all fussy, there were small air bubbles and brush strokes, but they all disappeared. I wasn't sure how perfect it needed to be, I watched many videos of other people applying it, and some people were careful while others just slapped it on with an old rag. It seems to be very forgiving. I sanded very lightly with 220 after the first coat since it seemed to raise the grain up a little. I also sanded a bit after the second coat, but skipped the sanding after the third coat since it was really smooth. (Waterlox website says that sanding is not necessary for adhesion between coats.) I applied 4 coats in total, waiting 24 hours between applications. I'm not going to lie, the waiting was a real pain. My kitchen was out of commission for almost a week. But with each coat, you could see the finish building up to a nice sheen. It also darkened the wood and brought out the grain. I didn't use any stain on the counters beforehand since I was counting on the Waterlox to darken it a bit. The Waterlox sinks into the wood as it cures, and at first I wasn't sure how I would be able to tell when I had enough coats. But I just kept applying it until the sheen looked nice and even.Now for the warning-WEAR A RESPIRATOR! The solvents that evaporate right after application are strong and you don't want to breathe them. I made the mistake of not wearing a respirator during the first application and I was dizzy for half a day. Learn from my stupidity! I bought a 3M respirator with the pink cartridges suitable for organic vapors, it was like $30 but worth it. The vapors won't bother you at all if you wear it. (I also wore safety glasses and gloves.) Ventilating the space properly really seems to help the curing process. Luckily I live in Georgia and it's August, so I had no problem keeping the temps over 70 degrees. I opened all the windows in the house to vent, but I did not open the kitchen window or turn on the ceiling fan since I didn't want bugs or dust settling into my finish. Note that I finished the counters after they were installed. If I had to do it again, I would have finished them in my garage before installation. I have read complaints from other folks about the smell. I did find the initial smell to be pretty overwhelming, but that is to be expected, no surprise there. The solvents evaporate about 2-4 hours after application, then you are left with the smell of tung oil, which is strong but not entirely revolting. I am willing to deal with it since the end result is worth it and I did not feel any ill effects from the tung smell. Not sure how long that will linger, I will monitor it and update later.The photos show before and after, you can really see how the Waterlox changes the color and adds sheen. I like the semi gloss sheen and since my cabinets and backsplash will be refinished in a dark navy, I planned on having the shinier counters to break up the dark colored cabinets.I haven't tested it for water resistance, I will have to update that after I use the counters for awhile.I bought 1 quart of the original and had enough to do 4 coats on my counters in my smallish kitchen, with a small amount of product left over. It doesn't keep though, unless you somehow squeeze or displace all the oxygen out of the container. When applying the finish, I only poured out small amounts into my paint tray since you can't put the unused product back in the can.Good luck, be patient, ventilate your space and, wear your respirator!

Waterlox is the best wipe on finish I have ever used. It is my go to finish on all woodworking projects. Easy to apply and provides a good looking durable finish.

We used this on a butcher block countertop. Applied three coats to each side, we wanted to be assured water wouldn't damage it even in a flood. Got a little high from the fumes, but after our sight was restored, saw the beautiful countertop.

Very good results. This is a traditional oil finish. The label on the container notes that it contains mineral spirits, tung oil, linseed oil, ester gum, olefin resin, and phenolic resin; about 60% volatile and 40% non-volatile (the last 4 ingredients). It is the mineral spirits that provide its principle odor when you apply it, and the smell is not unlike Minwax poly, Watco, Formby's, or other oil-based finishes. The label contains appropriate instructions for ventilation. Like other such oil-based finishes, it will change the color of the wood to a warmer tone. The liquid is a light brown color. I've observed that most of the VOCs flash off within about the first hour. The finish "dries" through a combination of the VOCs evaporating and the oils oxidizing to form a film with the resins. Moving the air with a fan will aid in setting up the finish. I've only used this on freshly machined wood, so while I cannot comment on how well it works on refinished wood, I've always had success with it setting up within the advertised 24 hours (usually less, but I wait for the full 24 before recoating). Key here is to use thin coats, and I've never had to thin it to apply it. No sanding is needed between coats. After the prescribed 24 hours, there is a very faint oil smell (probably the tung and linseed oils) that fades as the finish completely cures over a couple of days. No special techniques needed to apply the finish. Depending on the project, I've used a brush, lint free cloth, or hand rubbed it. Typically, I use a lint free cloth and wipe off the excess to a uniform film, and I wear nitrile gloves more to keep my hands clean than anything else. /// IMPORTANT - dispose of oily rags properly. Like with all oil finishes, oily rags can spontaneously ignite especially if wadded up or left in a pile. /// The label says it produces a "medium sheen" that fades to a less glossy sheen over 3-4 months. I've found that to be accurate. A distinct advantage over this oil finish compared to polyurethane is that repairs are easy. Polyurethane does not like to adhere to old polyurethane which is why you need to roughen the surface by sanding it. This Waterlox finish provides good protection to the wood, but you can also reapply the finish to it over time as long as it is clean. /// The only down side to this stuff is that it is roughly twice as expensive as other finishes, so I use it on special projects. Approx street prices: Waterlox ($43/quart = $1.34/ounce compared to Watco Danish Oil ($8/pint = $0.50/ounce), Minwax Antique Oil Finish ($14/pint = $0.88/ounce), Minwax Tung Oil Finish ($20/quart = $0.63/ounce), Formby's Traditional Tung Oil Finish ($10/pint = $0.63/ounce). So, others are less expensive and work very well too. The sheen is different between them, though. A gallon is more cost effective ($90/gallon = $0.70/ounce), but unless you have use a LOT of finish, it will go bad once opened and oxygen repeatedly gets to it. You may be able to find it cheaper from other places as noted in other reviews; for me as a Prime member, the difference in shipping costs made it less of an issue for me. /// PERFORMANCE = 5 STARS but COST brings it down to 4 STARS. Bottom line: I like it and will continue to use it. /// My solution to extend shelf life is to remove the oxygen .... Ok, so I'm eccentric. ... to save the finish, I decant only what I need using a cooking syringe into a small mason jar and replace air with nitrogen in the finish's original container as I seal it up..... ( air is 71% nitrogen and 21% oxygen) .... I have a tank of pressurized nitrogen for welding and use a regulator to reduce pressure to a couple of psi, throttled through a ball valve and tygon tubing... This really works very well for me. Other, less nutty methods are out there to do the same thing, and there are some consumer products like "Bloxygen," but they're expensive too. ///