Hi @HeatherP,
A warm welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community and thank you for your question.
I think it's important to understand the differences and limitations of different benchtop materials. Have a read through A Guide To Kitchen Benchtop Materials for some advice on this topic.
For a benchtop with a timber-look laminate veneer, the Kaboodle 2400 x 600 x 38mm Smoked Oak Benchtop is a good option in a lighter shade.
For a laminated timber benchtop, where strips of solid timber are laminated together, this Kaboodle 2400 x 600 x 33mm American Oak Benchtop would be a good option. Being solid timber, your ability to oil, stain and varnish the timber gives you much more options in terms of customisation.
A timber-look laminate benchtop uses a veneer designed to imitate the species it is referring to. The coatings are typically UV-resistant, however, if they are exposed to direct UV rays for their entire lifetime, it's possible some yellowing will occur.
When you ask what paint to use, I believe you are asking about what varnish or oil to use. If you were buying a laminate benchtop designed to imitate timber, you wouldn't need to apply any product to the surface. If you were using a solid timber benchtop, you could use a clear varnish like Cabot's Satin Water Based Cabothane Clear Polyurethane Timber Varnish or an oil like Feast Watson's Kitchen Timber Oil.
Let me know what you think and if you have further questions, please don't hesitate to ask.
Jacob
