Wood Butter

[Bakersdozen]

We are almost done with a remodeling project to our house.  I will spare you the details of all that except that there was an ugly bedroom with an adjacent bathroom that contained the laundry area,  We had never touched anything in these rooms except to use them.  So wallpaper, carpeting, linoleum, etc. from 1996.  While talking to my guy (aka contractor) I remembered that I had bought 4 old wood and glass cabinet doors about 25 years ago at a garage sale for $1 each.  They had sat in the garage all this time getting dirtier and dirtier.  He said he would be happy to incorporate the doors into a linen closet that he would build. 

So, it took me about 4 week to strip the old varnish, clean the old varnish off the glass, clean the old varnish off the glass knobs, and restore the hinges to working order.  Suitable replacement hinges couldn't be found.  They don't make that size any more.  After multiple attempts to strip the varnish, I realized the wood was not great quality and it was stained in areas from that varnish.  So the wood grain wasn't great and the color was uneven.   I realized that my doors were never going to be perfect, they would have character.  My guy suggested using a wood paste on them instead of staining or varnishing.  I didn't want to paint them.  So, this is the paste I made to add life back to my cabinet doors.   I found this recipe at https://stayandroam.blog/wood-butter-recipe/  It is food grade so you could use it on cutting boards or wooden spoons too.  You will need a scale.

Homemade Wood Butter
25 grams beeswax
100 grams coconut oil or nut oil
Wide mouth jelly jar with lid
Pan to use as a double boiler

Simply weight ingredients and melt in a double boiler.  Using a wide mouth jar will make it easier to use the wood butter once it has solidified.
Apply to wood.  Leave at least 4 hours before removing and buffing the wood.  I used a nitrile glove to smear the wood butter on.

I applied the paste generously and left 24 hours before removing.  The wood came to life.  It was a subtle change. 



Before




Comparison of treated wood to bare wood



Four completed doors waiting to be used.

[The15thMember]

Wonderful!  I love it when people find a way to upscale old things.    I use a mixture of beeswax and mineral oil on our wooden cooking utensils, and even the cheapest bamboo ones from Walmart look so much better after I condition them with it.  Plus it helps make them a little bit non-stick.