I think your benchtop material choice really depends on how both you and your husband live and what level of natural wear you are comfortable with showing. Natural wood benchtops to me are very similar to natural stone or stainless steel. The surfaces will naturally age and show use, scratches and imperfections much more than say a caesarstone if it's a high use area but some people love that look and it goes well with an industrial or natural style. My wife and I thought long and hard about it but realised we want the benchtop to look as new and clean each time as possible so opted back for caeserstone (Ocean Foam) which hid small stains and dust :)

thanks how2girl, but I guess my question is more about polishing concrete that has been sealed/oiled than it is about concrete benchtops (hence those threads were a bit generic). A bit more research suggests to me that a sander is the tool to use. I'm thinking of attaching some used carpet to a sander. I'm still unsure of whether to use a polishing cream - I think it perhaps can't do any harm though, and may add to the shine. Then the question becomes whether it makes sense to add bees wax over the top. To me, it seems it would protect the shine. But I'm guessing all of this.

Hi there, we just do a wipe down every day for cleanliness ( can still see some marks with this) and a wipe and buff once a week to look as new. We have red wine, turmeric, beetroot, coffee drips, grey ‘pencil’ scrapes from plates. Oils are pretty much a daily addition on our benches too, and as it is also our backsplash it gets tomato sauce, spatters etc from cooking. All disappear with the wipe and buff method except for the pencil type marks which I use another Enjo product called marble paste on then follow up with the usual routine. I think you may have to make the hard decision between the fresh concrete look or a stone that shows less marks in certain lights- choose whichever feature will make you the happiest in the long term. Either way you will love your new space.

I have had all types of counter tops but now would like to try Concrete to go with my polished Concrete floors. The You tubes available look good promising but it is a bit like making a cake it never turns out the way the photos suggest. This is a new house build and none of the concrete fellows I have spoken to have ever done it. I would love to hear from someone that has given it a go.