I would put plain mineral oil on it and see what you think. It won’t hurt anything, it is inexpensive, and it will darken and even out the light areas

You sanded the wood. Did you apply 2 coats of stain before you finished with a coat of tung oil? (which is food safe).

How many coats of the tung oil have you put on so far?

I didn’t use a stain. I used dark Tung oil. Probably 5-6 coats. I followed the directions to the letter. I had the wood installed a month ago and I’m wondering if areas got used/worn and that’s why it took weird? I also had used boos mystery oil on it twice over a month ago. Which is why I cleaned and lightly sanded. Where did I go wrong? It’s a beautiful piece of wood so I need to make this look good! Many thanks for the help!

My experience with Tung oil on walnut butcherblock is that too much/too many coats can leave an almost waxy residue that leaves a splotchy look. I wiped with a soapy rag until the waxy/stickiness was gone and after a while (about a week or two?), the splotchy look disappeared. Now i only put on a thin coat of Tung oil....splotchy lesson learned!

I can try that! Thanks.. this is maple if that makes a difference.

Not sure if wood type makes a difference...but the splotchy waxy look is exactly what mine looked like, just a different color of wood :)

I thought I was really going to protect the wood by caking on the tung oil.. oops! I was glad when it returned to normal after a while, was concerned I really jacked it up and would have to sand it!

I’m gonna try cleaning it tomorrow. Thanks for the reply!!

I tried the soapy rag.. didn’t seem to help. Not sure what to do? Praying I didn’t screw up this beautiful piece of wood. I bought 0000 steel wool.. saw a blog about using turpentine? Just so scared to make it worse.

Soapy rag just took off the sticky feeling for my countertop...it took a week or two for the splotchy look to go away.

I would wait a couple weeks (using island as normal) before tackling it with something else? I was panicking a bit cuz I really didnt want to hassle with sanding, thankfully the waxy buildup and splotchy look disappeared over time.

Thanks! I’ll step away and put the arsenal down! I think using the dark Tung was also a bad choice. Highlighted the splotches. But I was looking to warm up the maple. Ugh.

Musicgalnd~ did your look as splotchy as mine?

Mine looked the same as yours.... (except u have maple and I have walnut). I wish I would've taken a picture of mine to post but I was too busy scrubbing it with the soapy cloth haha.

I was able to scrape off waxy residue with my fingernail... do u notice a waxy residue that scrapes off?

I can definitely scrape off dark residue with my nail. But overall it doesn’t feel tacky. Just looks terrible! I tried rubbing a little more in one small light spot to see if it just needed more but it doesn’t make a difference. This was installed a couple months ago and outside of using boos oil once or twice I waited to treat it until the kitchen was done. So I’m guessing their were usage spots that the dark Tung accentuated? I’m stressing. Thank you so much for responding. I appreciate it so much. I need to breathe. And walk away and give it some time. Before I reach for the sander. On a brand new piece of wood. :(

I wanted walnut but it was so much more than maple. Hence my attempt at darkening it!

Turpentine? Step away from the counter and leave it alone!

Seriously, though, here is some information I found re: Waterlox tung oil. Some blotchiness is to be expected. Its the nature of a penetrating oil finish. It should even out over time with subsequent oilings.

Eam44~thank you! So stressing about this.. mine wasn’t Waterlox. Not sure if that makes a difference. I used the dark half from the real milk paint company. Thank you again! I’m trying to relax!

I used Tung oil with citrus from Real Milk Paint Co.

Smells great, seems to work best with just one thin coat a couple times a year.

Your maple counter is pretty with your kitchen colors. I bet/hope the blotches will disappear over time!

That looks beautiful! I’ll wait this out and if it doesn’t look better I will sand it and mineral oil it..

Maple is hard to stain and often gets blotchy. I wonder if your product is tung oil with added stain in it. I used tung oil on our maple counters, but it did not have any colour added to it. Maple does darken naturally over time. Mineral oil is nice, but it won't darken it much and needs to be reapplied (to maple) all the time. I'd just buff it with 0000 steel wool and see how it looks after it's left for a bit.

Does the Boos mystery oil have any wax in it?

I have used tung oil on gun stocks. In my experience, a desired finish can take months, and a lot of work.

Music has the correct approach....relax....please do not experiment..please do not sand. Why are you planning to change oils?

@eandhl2 I don't think the boos oil does; they make mystery cream, too, and that has wax in it.

Jim~ my thought is if this doesn’t look better after a couple weeks.. to sand it and use plain mineral oil with no darkening. Not sure what they put in it to make it dark.. but they say it’s still food safe so I don’t think it’s a stain. It’s something natural. But I do think everyone’s right who said it doesn’t take evenly to maple. I’ll wait a bit. Which is tough because it doesn’t look good.

Not sure how this turned out for you but from all the research I’ve done in trying to find the right product for my butcher block and even hardwood floors, tung oil will look that way until enough coats have been built up for it to have a smooth finish. it’s not like using mineral oil where it just soaks in. Tung oil actually creates a barrier that sits on top of the wood...and maybe some soaks in too. It will look uneven and splotchy until you have enough on.

Hopefully you were able to find a solution that worked for you!

Hello~ so I ended up talking to a wood guy. I sprayed mineral spirits on the maple and blotted until the cloth was clean. Lightly sanded.. and mineral oil. The only thing I will ever use moving forward. It took hours. So mine isn’t light and perfect like it was when it was new.. but it looks great. Like it has just aged. The dark tung oil for me was a huge mistake. And I’m sure mostly user error. I was too afraid to keep applying more tung. And I’m sure using the dark version wasn’t my best idea either.

Thanks for the update, sorry to hear it was such a painful experience! I used to use mineral oil and got tired of applying it once a month. Highly recommend the Real Milk Paint Company's Half & Half product (Pure Tung Oil cut with 50% Citrus Solvent, see link below). No tint to it, and the finish lasts longer than mineral oil. In my experience, you just don't want to cake on a thick layer all at once, so I apply a couple thin coats once or twice a year. Would you mind sharing the name of the tinted product you had used? Just curious to know what it was.

The Real Milk Paint Company - Half & Half

I have an end grain butcher block island and used Rubio Monocoat....love it! Seals and stains in one easy application. And I had zero experience prior to applying. Food safe, plant based (I think) and VOC free. Actually created for floors so it is very durable. Lasts 2-5 years on floors. I know of 3 butcher block mfg’s that use it to stain and seal their products.

Musicgal-I used the Milk company dark half and half. Wish I would of just used what you did.. this is how it looks now. I’ve grown to love it and leave it alone. Except still mineral oiling occasionally. It’s not the perfect light maple when it was delivered.. but I didn’t like it that light. That’s what started this whole thing. I’m seriously my own worst enemy sometimes!!

This is my butcher block

This is Real Milk Half and Half natural on Cherry. It took several light coats until the wood absorbed it evenly. I did this about a year and a half ago and I haven’t needed to do anything more. I did call the company because I accidentally let sunlight hit it after applying the second coat and the oil bubbled but they advised on how to correct it. We are so happy with it.

It looks great, and love your island paint color and big doors to backyard!

@lisa your final pic looks amazing!!!!! i'm reading this as i struggle to decide which block to buy and how to treat it. i'd settled on maple with dark half and half too, and now i'm scared. BUT, looking at your end picture makes me feel good about it???? our is next to sink so i feel like we need more than mineral oil? the whole thing is so stressful.