First Aid for Old Wood Cutting Boards

Recently I refurbished our old cutting board with Boos Mystery Oil and Boos Board Cream. In the eight or more years we’ve used this board I have never used any product on it. It looked so dry and scratched up that I contemplated tossing it out and just buying a new one. But I decided to give the Boos products a try.

Now, it looks like a new board and all the pretty wood variations are visible.

So the other day when I saw a used cutting board at a thrift store (I have totally ignored these in the past as being slightly gross), I thought…hmmm, maybe I should buy this and refurbish it. I already have the products!

This 14″ wood board is by Mountain Woods. It’s heavy (six pounds), 1.6″ deep and has inset handles. The cuts aren’t deep, but the board feels sticky. I think this is a good board for my experiment!

Here’s the process I’m going to use:

• Clean. Sand both sides with sand paper to clean and remove/lessen most cuts. Throughly wipe off all dust.

If you don’t want to sand, boards can be cleaned with an application of white vinegar and a scrub brush or sprinkle on salt and rub with half a lemon.

• Sanitize. Rub hydrogen peroxide on each cutting side. Let stand for at least 10 minutes. Wipe off. Dry overnight.
• Moisturize. Apply Boos Mystery Oil, leave on overnight, wipe off any excess in the morning. Apply Boos Cream, leave on overnight, wipe off any excess in the morning. Done!

While I use Boos products, many people choose to use mineral oil, beeswax, coconut oil or similar.

Here’s the board post-sanding. I was hand sanding it, but my husband offered to do it at his workplace’s wood shop. (Who knew Google had a wood shop?) So he got this board silky smooth and ready for the oil and cream treatments.

Here it is after two oil treatments and one paste treatment.

Beautiful and ready to use. I’m not sure what kind of wood it is. Not acacia or teak as are the newer Mountain Woods boards. Would love to say it’s maple or cherry, but I don’t know. But it’s nice and solid and I dare say up for a decade or more of use with proper care! I will be selling this for $34.99 (plus shipping) if interested.

Anyway it was a fun little project and it turned out well. I’ll be keeping an eye out for other quality boards to refurbish.

Happy hunting!