Thread: Would this merbau panel be suitable for a benchtop with a sink?

Merbau can/will leach tannin when wet, it will discolor anything it touches. If the merbau is sufficiently dried or weathered, it's not an issue - but with just an oil and wax finish I think it would leach as it gets wet. Also, high tannin content timber + water + iron = black stains that are near impossible to remove with just sanding.

I haven't done countertops in merbau but I have in spotted gum for my laundry, which shares the traits of being hard, oily, and high in tannins. I had issues with the panel coming apart at glue lines and discoloring where it got wet and met the stainless steel sink. I had used polyurethane glue for the panel and Osmo PolyX for the finish. The glue failure may have been (likely was) user error as it was my first time using polyurethane glue. I re glued using Techniglue (epoxy glue) and have had no issues. For the finish, I'm not knocking Osmo - it works very well on more porous woods like oak and blackwood but is not so great with hard dense timbers like a lot of our eucalypts and corymbias. When I did the reglue, I sanded and refinished with Cabots water based poly, three coats, and a year in, it looks promising. No adhesion issues, no water penetration, and no further staining.

Long story short - if you go with Merbau, I would use a film finish like polyurethane, not oil and wax combos.

One of my question would be around the glue they used. is that water proof? Assuming that they are, the 2nd question would regarding the length of these panels, Are they only 2200 long? How are you joining them together?

I have used this stuff in the past; Merbau Bench Top - Laminated - 4.8m x 600mm x 30mm | eBay , or something very similar. It was available in 1m increments at the time. As a benchtop, coated with tung oil, it has held up well over time. No staining.

It states on the label that they are suitable for wet areas, so it must be waterproof glue.

The bit that I want to replace is only 2200 long. The 32mm panels are 2400 long though.

Yes, I was aware that leaching might be a problem.

I want to stay with the oil & wax finish. Refinishing the whole kitchen in poly would mean removing the build-up of the old finish, and that could be difficult to do completely.

Yes it's suitable. I've used the Specrite panels around a sink. They are A bond and therefore waterproof glue line, though they are FJ, not full length boards. You don't need to worry about leaching, how often do you hose the bench top down? I'd just use an oil finish (they are prefinished from memory anyway). However I probably would seal the cut edges under the sink just in case you do get a bit of water down under the lip of the sink, which will leach and may run onto the carcass wall. Although you may seal the sink down with a bead of silicone, I have found that silicone sometimes doesn't adhere to the oiled wood.

I found the same panels and used them for a kitchen bench (including sink) in our old rental property. I just coated them in 2 or 3 coats of the cabbots benchtop poly

worked fine in terms of splits, cracks etc. wooden bench tops need alot more care then other types so I wouldn't recommend them in rentals.

I use the "cheapy" hardwood 32mm tas oak bunnings panel for my kitchen, and they seem to be holding up OK for the last couple of years. I just The panels were very low quality however (it definitely pays to sort through the pile, bring a friend), required lots of sanding and epoxy fill. I just used "kitchen timber oil", no idea if I should have used a hard finish, but can always refinish it if required.
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