Finding a food safe finish for your charcuterie boards and butcher blocks has always been really hard to find. Regular stain is NOT food safe. I could only use clear oil and would use coffee grounds to tint it.
I discovered Watco makes a tinted butcher block oil so I had to test it out myself.
It comes in two colors.
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Here are the steps I took to compare the stain + oil products.
After opening and stirring with a paint stick, dip your rag into the stain.
Apply to wood by rubbing in with the grain.
One coat is good here so I’ll let it air dry overnight. The instructions say a second coat can be applied but I like how it is with one coat.
In order from left to right: Watco Butcher Block oil + Stain in Ebony, Watco Butcher Block oil + Stain in Hazelnut, Howards cutting board oil and Natural wood (nothing applied).
Jeannine says
Thank you for this. I’ve been holding out on my butcher block counter top project as I wanted it to have a bit of color vs. the clear version. Do you know what type of wood was used in your testing?
Jenette says
The pieces used are yellow pine, so they absorb color well. I would test in a spot before doing a butcher block 🙂