# Urethane for Cutting Board?



## larrybard (May 16, 2015)

I recently saw some end grain cutting boards being offered, and they were finished with one coat of "food grade urethane" and additional coats of food grade mineral oil. What advantages -- and disadvantages -- might there be with a coat of urethane? It's not something I recall being mentioned on KKF as being used by any of the vendors here, such as BoardSmith. Standard recommendations seem to be food grade mineral oil and bees wax/Board Butter.


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## WildBoar (May 16, 2015)

Seems like the knife edge would penetrate the urethane, so not sure what good it ultimately would do. Might actually make the board surface look like pooh after it's been used a lot.


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## aboynamedsuita (May 16, 2015)

I'd think the urethane would make it less permeable to moisture therefore lower maintenance, but cutting on it would ruin the sealing effect I'm thinking. I'm not sure if it's similar to John Boos "varnique" finish, but it is probably more for aesthetics versus function. JB says you can use for food prep tasks but shouldn't cut on, also voids NSF.


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## daveb (May 16, 2015)

I was thinking all show and no go.


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## chiffonodd (May 16, 2015)

I used this stuff on a wood cutting board for my mother, since I knew she wouldn't oil it regularly:

https://www.rustoleum.com/en/product-catalog/consumer-brands/watco/butcher-block-oil-and-finish

It uses tung oil alkyd, so there's a resin/binder component - I believe it behaves similarly to what you're talking about.

It definitely added a protective layer and seemed to bring out the grain nicely. Good waterproofing too. The drawback though as others have mentioned is that the layer shows scarring from knives. So it is a tradeoff.


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## Duckfat (May 24, 2015)

I've never used it However Michigan Maple Block sells a variant and most of their boards are NSF certified. I'd shoot them an email and ask if they use it on their NSF boards if that's a concern. AFAIK they use this on Counter tops etc that are not intended to be cut on. Take it FWIW but it's not what I would use on my boards. Board butter is easy to make.

http://www.butcherblock.com/product/emmets-good-stuff/

Dave


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## larrybard (May 24, 2015)

The explanation -- not as helpful as I had hoped -- that I ultimately received from the seller as to why he uses urethane was: "Protect it! Also makes it look good for many years. With the end grain boards it really helps out."

Given the reasonable price ($41, plus shipping) for a 16"x16" black walnut end grain cutting board, I went ahead and purchased it. Am now adding more mineral oil.






<a href="http://imgur.com/GMKmbqs"><img src="http://i.imgur.com/GMKmbqs.jpg" title="source: imgur.com" /></a>


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## Culverin (May 26, 2015)

You scored that off ebay?


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## larrybard (May 26, 2015)

Yes


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