How can I clear coat a wood(butcher block) counter top without making the wood turn that yellowish tone?

Im not planning to use the wood as a cutting surface so I just want to be able to wipe it clean regularly. I don't want the color to change much. I like the white wooden color. Suggestions?How can I clear coat a wood(butcher block) counter top without making the wood turn that yellowish tone?
Go with 3 coats of Tung oil. Tung oil is made for applications just as you describe.How can I clear coat a wood(butcher block) counter top without making the wood turn that yellowish tone?
Don't use tung oil. Tung oil will, over a period of several months, age the surface of the cutting board to a yellow/orange color. The best way to achieve your objective is to use a water based polyurethane product. Polyurethane is produced both as a solvent based and as a water based product. They both provide the same level of protection, but the solvent based poly imparts that golden tinge to the wood that, quite frankly, most people find appealing. If you don't want this golden tinge than you can use the water based polyurethane instead. It will not change the color of your cutting board at all, even as it ages. You can find both types of poly (solvent based or water based) at any good hardware store or at any of the big box home improvement stores such as Lowes or Home Depot. You might even be able to find it at Walmart.
I once had this problem with wormy chestnut, and the simple answer is that ANY finish is going to darken the color of the wood by a few shades. Over the years, I've found that tung oil will do the job nicely. You need to rub it in (use your bare hand) and you will need 5 to 10 coats to get a hard glossy finish. Let it dry between coats.





The beauty of a tung oil finish is that in the future you can renew it just by adding another coat or two.





I'm told that hand rubbed marine oil is a good finish, but I have no personal experience with it.





I recently did a bartop with the pourable epoxy (clear), but find that when I set a hot cup of coffee on it, the epoxy is affected by the heat, and the cup leaves a little ring, so I'd be leery of going that route.





No matter what finish you use, keep direct sunlight from striking it, as sunlight is hard on any finish.
You can use West System epoxy to do this...it is a very clear epoxy. I use it for all kinds of wood projects. If you counter gets yellow when you put water on it (or when it is just wet), you may need to look into some color of stain that will fit your fancy (the clear epoxy will make it look wet).





hope this helps.
You can buy clear finishes.


Wet that top with water and look at it.


Thats the lightest color finish you can get.


(Butcher block is there for a reason. The finishing will make the counter


unusable as a cutting surface.)