How to handle a wooden countertop?

The flatness of the table in the kitchen is an indispensable part of the kitchen furniture, it is subjected to constant mechanical stress and is damaged over time. Therefore, the owners of kitchen furniture ask themselves an inextricable question: - How to cover the countertop so that it does not lose its presentation for many years?

Content:

• Features of wooden countertops
• Ways to protect the kitchen worktop
• Oil coating for kitchen sets
• Updating the wood workspace
• Chopping Board Care
• Restoring wood countertops

In the kitchen, the upper part of the table or the area located on top of the floor cabinets of the headset is used as a working area for cutting food and cooking, as well as a place for placing household appliances and kitchen utensils.Such a work area must be resistant to shock and various mechanical damage, to the effects of temperatures, ultraviolet radiation and water.

Features of wooden countertops

Kitchen sets are made using various raw materials, such as wood. It can be either natural, that is, without a special composition applied on top, or coated with varnish or paint.

The table presents data on tables made of wood.

The advantages of wood worktops are:

• a large number of various forms;
• attractive appearance;
• ease of restoration work;
• This material is environmentally friendly and warm.

The disadvantages of countertops made of wood raw materials are:

• ease of fire;
• ease of pollution;
• can be scratched with ease;
• has a rather expensive cost.

Ways to protect the kitchen worktop

The working area of ​​the room in which the food is cooked is exposed to various liquids, therefore, in order to serve for many years, it must be protected from water.

There are several ways to do this:

1. Apply oil for processing items made of wood, which is absorbed into the material and prevents the fibers from swelling when wet. The following industrial products can be used for a wooden surface: OSMO TopOil, Belinka, Adler Legno or many others. To process the working area together with this substance or even instead of it, special wax is used. But you must remember that such a tool will have to be updated over time, that is, applied again.
2. To process it several times with a special varnish for wood planes. If desired, a little pigment is added to it so that the deep fibers of the tree become darker, and the plane itself for cooking works becomes expressive.

Oil coating for kitchen sets

Oil protects furniture from the influence of not only moisture, but also from chemical, natural and domestic influences. This industrial product is mostly colorless and may be vegetable, mineral or synthetic.

Such coatings differ from each other by the method of drying:

1. It dries completely, hardens after drying, it cannot be washed off with water and the original appearance of the processed furniture remains for a long time.
2. Absolutely not drying or drying by half, impregnates the wood quite deeply. It is made using natural ingredients. It is removed by applying mechanical action.

Before applying such a tool, the treated plane is thoroughly cleaned of all contaminants and dried. If necessary, old paint or varnish will have to be removed. And if there are defects, then they must be leveled with a special putty, and then sanded with sandpaper.

The oil is applied with a brush or non-linting fabric; it is applied over the entire length of the fibers. The very first layer should dry for twelve hours, then a new layer is applied. Their total number in this composition depends on the method by which the product itself will be applied. If you use a brush, then two treatments will be done. And when using a rag, you need to make three or four layers. After completely absorbing the composition, the entire treated area should be wiped well with a soft and clean cloth.

The presented coating has a number of positive properties:

1. Does not change the color of the plane for working with food, emphasizes its "drawing".
2. It leaves the initial natural exchange of moisture in the surface and prevents the appearance of fungi, so the initial appearance of the treated area does not change for a long time.
3. If elevated temperatures act on the outer part of the subject for such processing, the product does not delaminate and does not flow.
4. Furniture oil is environmentally friendly, therefore, the contact of food ingredients with the surface on which the described composition is present does not harm human health.
5. The oil hides small scratches, worn areas and stains left by the dishes.
6. If there is a need to update contaminated areas, you can remove only part of this coating, and then apply it again to the desired areas.
7. The oil is well suited even for aged wood containing pores, as it is deeply absorbed, gives elasticity to it and prevents its drying out.

Updating the wood workspace

No matter how neatly the working area in the cooking room is operated, it still loses its original appearance over time. Then you can either buy a new headset or try to update it. Staining is the easiest way to upgrade.

To stain the working area, do the following:

• to clean the countertop with sandpaper or a polishing machine;
• gloss over all defects with special putty;
• walk on the treated surface with alkyd resin paint, the very first application of this paint will serve as a primer;
• if you want, you can decorate the plane for kitchen work (draw something yourself or using stencils).

You can decorate the working part of the furniture for the kitchen using the decoupage technique. This technique consists in the fact that decorative napkins are glued to the updated item, and then they pass several times with varnish.

Another way of updating is the use of a film of self-adhesive material, which allows you to give the updated thing the appearance of a wood surface, stone, marble, leather or metal. Before gluing, the processed part of the furniture will have to be washed well, wiped dry and always degreased.

Before using a self-adhesive film, determine the dimensions of the area that needs to be updated in order to properly cut the film. Pieces of this film must be cut a little larger than the table itself. After gluing on the film, do not leave tubercles or folds. Smoothing the film is performed with a plastic scraper.

Chopping Board Care

Whatever material the kitchen countertop is covered with, it is better to cut the food after all not on it, but on the surface of the cutting board. The raw materials for creating the cutting board may be different. Kitchen boards are created using plastic, special glass or wood (they are most often chosen because they are a natural antiseptic).

A new board for cutting, you need to soak, for which oil is suitable. This impregnation will protect it from liquid, food and bacteria getting inside it.

The oil layer of the board must be harmless to health and resistant to various damage. If you use oil based on sunflower or olives to cover the cutting surface, then after some time it can deteriorate, and this board will need to be thrown away. Means based on coconuts or flax road, but will not allow the cutting plane to become worthless.

Mineral oil is a good option for coating a cutting board. To do this, they wipe the cutting board with it, wait until the composition is absorbed, and wipe it with a dry cloth. The procedure must be repeated once every thirty days.

Bee wax can be added to such a coating of the cutting board to give the coating a density. Wax will increase resistance to moisture and prevent the cutting board from aging. After applying the oil substance and wax, you will have to let the product dry, and then polish the outer part of the plank to obtain a shine.

You should also be aware of the disinfection of the cooking board. To disinfect cutting boards, use these methods:

• hot water and a detergent containing surfactants;
• vinegar
• hydrogen peroxide;
• chlorine bath cleaners.

Restoring wood countertops

Under the negative influence of liquid and high temperature, the upper part of the table may become higher, become loose or delaminate, after which the wooden surface must be restored.

Recovery is carried out as follows:

• you need to remove all damaged areas;
• dry and grind the restored outer part of the table;
• make a mixture containing sawdust and glue from polyvinyl acetate;
• fill with the mixture all the empty places in the table that appeared after grinding, for this purpose putty for wood is also suitable;
• leave the restored item under pressure until it dries for about one day;
• as soon as the table is completely dry, it must be protected with a silicone-containing agent, oiled or varnished over the entire area of ​​the object.

To remove small scratches, you can wipe the problem area with tightly brewed black tea, a walnut kernel, a mixture of vinegar with an extract from olives, and you can also use machine oil.

If there are scratches on the wooden plane that are deep, then sandpaper is used to sand it, and then grinding. And to give the effects of gloss and gloss, you will have to apply felt.

As a result of the foregoing, it can be concluded that in order to keep the kitchen countertop made of wood in good condition, it is best to cover it with an oil-based compound with the addition of wax. And to save the board for cutting products, she, too, would be good to make such an application. Then these items will serve for a long time, subject to timely updating of their protective coating.