Five or so years my wife had a new kitchen put in (same room, but redone).
For beauty, backsplash was wood.
I suggested waterproof paint. Both she and the builder (known for "beautiful" work) nixed that. Would be "ugly".
Of course the paint has cracked, etc, and thin slivers of wood are exposed -- and wet.
Anyway, how do wives you know (happily?) handle this problem?
Thanks,
David
If the body of the backsplash is wet, I would think the wood was not sealed on all surfaces. If that is so, the back splash has to be removed and replaced or dried, sealed on all surfaces and reinstalled. T
Remove the wood and replace with tile
They listen to someone who knows and don't put in wood back splashes.
I have a butcher block kitchen counter with wooden back splash. It has been in place since 1978 / 9. It has never needed repair. T
Seems the secret would be to finish and seal all surfaces of the wood prior to installation and caulk seams. Three coats of finish, probably, would be needed to seal all fine grain openings. If the counter isn't level and water stands against the wood, just a minute defect in the finish would allow water in, expand the wood and crack the finish further. End grain without sufficient sealing is the usual culprit.
Basically bare wood with a rubbed mineral oil finish though, right? And you keep it scrubbed and refresh the oil on a regular basis, probably. Or if not that, a heavy urethane finish? OP's backsplash is apparently painted wood, which is just dumb in a wet area application, IMHO. OP should replace the backsplash in the wet areas with stone or tile or something.
-- aem sends...
Repair any holes, gouges, or wood damage. Sand smooth, finally using
220 grit. The sanding is very important. Apply a primer per instructions. Apply at least two coats of a quality bath & kitchen paint, lightly sanding between coats. After 3-4 weeks of cure time, apply paste wax with fine steel wool and buff. Re-apply the wax every 6 months. Your backsplash should last for many years for most kinds of wood. White oak, teak, cedar, cypress, redwood are good rot-resistant choices.
My maple counter tops are sealed in polyurethane, about a dozen coats sanded in between. The have survived plenty of abuse
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