the land ark counter rescue

15 FEBRUARY 2012

The time we just spent without use of the countertop is hopefully a good meditation on how to make this thing work better. Ideally, for the next 30+ years. This is a challenge since the wood surface is not protected by any thick polyurethanes, lacquers or shellacs, but does serve as a direct surface for food preparation. In thinking this through, I actually asked my pizza dough where it preferred being made. Its answer, barely audible above the other voices in my head, was "wood." So there it is; a crazy plan for a aircraft carrier’s deck’s worth of space to make bread dough, cookies and—of course—pierogies.

This is a short update on the counter top “rescue” that I carried out, after realizing the current system of weak oiling, every 4-6 weeks, was not going to suffice in protective strength or in ease of maintenance. The product that the counter-top company recommends “boos’ mystery oil” is indeed a mystery to me in how it is supposed to protect at all with such a tenuous absorption to the tissue.

Here is Willy, working to sand and prepare the counter surface for five coats of a special oil that was recommended me by post and beam company. They use it to prevent the desiccation and checking of the large beams over time. Here they are: Land Ark is the name of the company, and so far I’ve had great luck with the service. Not to mention the ingredients: a total of three: tung oil, linseed oil and extract of orange peel for a solvent. High scoring on the food preparation scale. More than I can say for epoxies, of which many are based on bisphenol resins. The Land ark original finish smells like an orange grove and is pretty excellent to work with. I think we might put some on Willy, to improve his skin in the dry months too…

So after something like 8 days of preparation and curing there’s a vibrance to the counter again. What remains left is the application of a beeswax end-grain sealer around the sink cutout and near the dishwasher, and a bit more silicone by the backsplash trim. In several years I’ll update this blog topic as to whether the land ark rescue plan worked.