If you’re looking to stain or refinish butcher block countertops in the future, I hope this post helps you to avoid the mistakes we made. Here are our tips and just how we got the warm & cozy countertops we craved.
As many of you know, we refinished our butcher block countertops last month as part of our kitchen refresh. You can see the full reveal here. We’ve had them for almost 5 years now and at the start of the year we began to notice some wear. When we installed them we knew that they would need to be resealed every few years, so a little wear was not a surprise to us. We started this project thing it would be simple. Of course, we ran into some snags along the way and today I wanted to share what we learned and just how to refinish butcher block.
A Little Back Story
Our counter tops are from Ikea. They’re solid birch butcher block. We purchased them on clearance for $30 a slab, just before Ikea discontinued them. I decided to leave them unstained, in their natural state and sealed them Waterlox the first time. You can read our one year later post with more details here. Here’s a look at our counter tops just a year or so ago.
Flash forward to summer and you can see some of the wear that began to show up. Some light staining was noticeable on the island and around the sink area. Overall, not bad at all! I really do believe the Waterlox held up to expectation and did a great job.
For the last couple of years I knew that when the time came to reseal our counter tops that I wanted to sand them down to the bare wood and stain them with a warmer color. When we sealed them the first time I had read that the Waterlox would darken the counter tops a bit and could change the stain color if used on top of a stain. We opted to stick with the natural wood. Shortly after you could really see that the Waterlox did darken the counter tops a bit but it also gave them more of a yellow hue than I wanted.
This time we decided to do things a little differently.
- We sanded the butcher block down to bare wood. I started with 80 grit, followed by 120 and lastly 220. We used this orbital sander. It’s one of my favorite tools that has gotten tons of use. It did a great job with project. I used a Shop Vac and cotton cloth to clean the butcher block in-between each sanding and afterwards. Here’s what the countertops looked like once sanded.
2. I applied a wood conditioner on all of the countertops before I stained them. I’ve done a number of staining projects in the past and I’ve always noticed a difference in finished project when applying wood conditioner. It allows the wood grain to absorb the stain more evenly.
After trying several stain samples, I chose Provincial by Minwax. It’s a warm medium brown without the red tones. It’s one of my favorite stain colors. The sample butcher block took the stain beautifully and when I paired it with the new cabinet color and our marble back splash, it was perfection.
It was at the staining stage that our project took a turn. After staining over half the kitchen, I noticed that the countertops were looking darker and darker. I had removed all excess stain and made sure to apply a thin coat, using a brush. When we woke up the next morning they were even darker! What had happened? I had prepped the countertops just as I had the sample piece.
It looked horrible! They were far too dark and very blotchy. I was heartbroken. I had spent so much time and effort getting them to this point but I knew I couldn’t leave them like that. Two days later we sanded them down a second time. We sanded and sanded and sanded some more.
You can see in the photo below where the tiny grain had soaked up so much stain that even sanding multiply times with a belt sander didn’t completely remove it.
We sanded the best we could until we couldn’t take it anymore. I immediately started researching what could have happened. After searching Pinterest and reading blog post after blog post, I came up with nothing. It wasn’t until I found a reddit thread from someone who has in the same boat we were. Someone suggested using a sanding sealer after the wood conditioner and before staining.
Birch, pine and cherry often absorb more stain due to their larger grain. I knew this but I had no idea to what extent. Sanding sealer is a clear coat that locks out some of that grain and prevents it from soaking up too much stain. I had never used it until this project but I will be using it for any future projects. It worked like a charm!
That brings up to the third step.
3. After waiting the recommended time on your wood conditioner, apply sanding sealer in an even coat, using a brush.
4. Once the sanding sealer has dried, maybe an hour or so, apply your stain.
For this step, I used a rag a this time instead of a brush. I wanted to better control how much stain I was adding. I dipped the rag lightly in the stain and applied it onto the countertop going the direction of the grain. This is the countertop after one coat of stain.
This is the countertop after a second thin coat. I’d say it’s just right!
Finishing Butcher Block
There’s many different products you can use to finish your wooden countertops. There’s tung oil, Watco oil, Mineral oil or Waterlox. I personally do not like oils. I wanted something with less maintenance. Most oils have to be applied regularly. I considered Waterlox again but was worried it might effect the stain color and the thought of resealing 4 to 5 years later didn’t sound so great this time around.
We don’t ever cut directly on our countertops. We’ve always used cutting boards. For this reason, I went with a satin triple thick polyurethane. I read a number of articles, including one from This Old House and an older gentleman pointed out that most of our furniture is sealed with poly, including our kitchen tables. The fumes are not exactly great but once the space as aired out, and the poly have cured, you’re good to go. If you cut directly on your countertops I probably would go a different direction.
I applied three coats as recommended and allowed them to cure a full seven days before heavy use. I love the satin finish and that they’re essential maintenance free. After reading that one couple sealed their butcher block with poly over 10 years ago and it was still going strong, I knew that we had made the right choice for our family. They’re very easy to care for and look great. I use a mild soap and warm water or Mrs. Meyer’s multi-surface cleaner.
I’m so glad I stuck with it. They turned out just as I had hoped they would. It was more trying that I had expected but I learned a lot along the way.
All of the stains and previous ware were removed during the sanding process. The counter tops now look brand new. I just love a good reset!
If you’ve needed to refinish your butcher block and you haven’t been sure where to start, I hope this post helps. Sometimes it can be hard to find blog posts that cover failed DIY projects, but I have a feeling that we’re not the only ones who have had their butcher block turn out blotchy.
Are you thinking about installing butcher block? I say, go for it! We truly love our counter tops. I would install them over and over again. They add such a warmth to our kitchen and I love that as they get imperfections with use, they become more perfect. They simply tell a story.
I did similarly to my butcher block counters except I only did the poly. I am absolutely thrilled with them. BTW your kitchen is absolutely lovely and looks so usable… not just a show piece!
Thank you so much, Marcia! I bet they’re beautiful. I love the warmth butcher block gives a kitchen!
What color of stain did you use
What kind of poly did you use?
We refinished our oak dining table after painting it black, and we had the same experience. The grain soaked up black paint and we kept sanding and sanding. Eventually we put a gray-ish stain on for just a moment, which toned down the yellow enough that the grain looks appropriate again. We really love it now but we had such a project trying to rescue it after the paint soaked in! The paint guy at Home Depot mixed up our black paint in an outdoor base, which made the whole situation worse because it’s intended to last forever. I can imagine how you felt after you stained the first time! It looks so pretty now.
What color white did you choose for your cabinets? Love the butcher block!!
Hi, I also love the white you used on your cabinets. Was the change in color a long process? Did you use a primer to start? Amy information would be great.
And one more question for you, I have the same type of butcher block counters as you but I would like to keep mine as light as possible like the original unfinished color. Should I just use a poly finish only? What brand do you recommend. Thank you. Love your kitchen!
If you use the conditioner first, then the sealer then satin verathane, is that all I need to do if I want to keep the light color birch? Do I NEED to stain it. Also is it food safe?
I just installed butcher block countertops but I haven’t refinish them yet. They gave me a oil to put on them but I like the natural look and I also like to seal them up. They said I would use an oil if you’re going to sell them so I don’t know what to do. I probably could use that sanding solutionAnd use the clearcoat on that because I don’t like to keep redoing it. I seen a article where they use beeswax and that looks great but you have to redo it but every month or so and I don’t want to do that either. Please help me thank you! Rita
I just bought birch butcher block and want it to look like yours. Can you tell us exactly what products you used, especially the stain and poly? Thank you so much for your honest report.
Thanks for your thoughts. Curious what stain you used?
Hey there, I just wanted to say thank you so much for this blog. We just bought brand new butcher block and I followed your steps and product recommendations exactly and they have turned out so beautiful, and I am so thankful I found this blog! I’ve never done anything like this before and I reread your blog like 100x and went for it. I’m in the poly phase, and just wondering why you did three coats when the can just says to do 1? Thank you so much!
Hi Katie! I’m so glad this post helped! Finishing countertops can be a little intimidating, or least that’s how I felt when we first attempted it. As for your question, I did 3 coats because that’s what most traditional poly brands call for. After using the 3x poly on past furniture projects I found that it didn’t seem to have that much more coverage as traditional. With that in mind, I decided to do 3 just to be safe. I wanted to make sure that I wouldn’t have to refinish the counter tops anytime soon, ha!
Thank you for your blog and detailed instructions. We just bought a house that already had the butcher block. We have always had granite or quartz. The wood counters were in terrible condition with lots of black water stains. Next year we will change them but wanted to improve the look and seal them. We had to choose a darker stain because we were so tired of sanding and could not get out all of the damage. They look so much better. Thank you.
Your instructions were extremely helpful! I also have the Ikea birch countertops that I’m in the process of staining — and using your directions step by step! Two questions for you:
1) Did you sand down the counter again after applying sanding sealer? I found that the sanding sealer left streaks in the wood after staining.
2) How were you able to get the polyurethane finish to be so smooth? I followed all of your directions (super helpful!) but there are streaks and bubbles and I’m now struggling to fix it. Did you sand between coats of the polyurethane?
Any helpful specifics from your experience would be wonderful!
Would the sanding sealer replace the initial conditioner you used given your in between stage of stain you had to get rid of?
Just wanted to thank you for your post…I followed all of your instructions and really think you saved me from ruining my butcher block countertops!! Thanks again for all of the details!!!
Am about to start finishing my new birch butcher block countertop using your method above Thankfully you like I don’t like that orangey look so I wanted them more brown as well.
Quick question did you sand between any of the steps above ??
my countertop is already sanded and if I have this correct these were the steps
Conditioner > Sanding Sealer > one coat of Miniwax Stain > Second coat of Miniwax stain > Polyurethane sealant
Thank you 😊
Love this I am about to attempt all your steps on my new birch butcher block
Question did you sand in between any of your steps ?
Thank you 🙏
So if you are (like me), really, really busy in life but also coincidentally have Ikea butcher block counters (mine over 16 years old and never been refnished), what type of contractor could you pay to sand them down? I’d probably leave them unstained and then just reapply a lot of mineral oil afterwards.
Thank you for this. I have the exact counters from ikea and was just going to start mine. Sand, stain and seal! Would never have thought to put a sanding seal on it.
What color stain did you use?