Furniture Oil for new oak table

We have just purchased a new oak table whose care guidance notes say they recommend applying a thin coat of furniture oil once a month for the first three months, and once a year thereafter.

Can anyone recommend a 'good' furniture oil for oak and where it could be purchased from.

Many thanks - Steve.

Reply to
steveybar
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Odd. Although this is common advice, it's not usually applied to tables.

There are two sorts of "oil finish", film-forming and non-film- forming. A film-forming finish sits on the outside of the wood and it cures to a skin or film. It soaks in too (that's important for looks and "depth"), but it does cure, and it does form an external build-up. This is the sort of oil finish I'd expect on furniture. Although it takes many coats to apply it well, it's a small, finite number of coats and once they're done, they're done. These would usually be applied in the workshop, maybe daily, and don't need to be renewed in the future.

In fact they _shouldn't_ be renewed afterwards. Particularly where the "mayonnaise" recipe for an oily "finish restorer" has been used (National Trust through the '70s) you'll see that repeated applications build up into a muddy brown finish that's a pain to clean off afterwards.

One aspect of a film-forming finish is that it's not very wear resistant. Oil films are weak (weaker than varnishes) and they'll wear. Sometimes this is seen as patina developing and regarded as a good thing. However for "working" implements, particularly kitchenware, it's usually to avoid an oil film finish here in favour of a non-film finish. This soaks in entirely and doesn't form the external film. It doesn't need to cure, although some oils do and some don't. It's your classic "salad bowl" finish.

An aspect of these non-film oil finishes is the advice to refinish "once a month for the first three months, and once a year thereafter." or similar.

For a good film-forming finish, I use Liberon's ready-mixed "Finishing Oil" which is a good quality product and easy to get (Axminster, many other on-line sellers, maybe local too). Rustins, Bolloms etc sell similar products.

If you're using a film-forming oil, don't keep re-applying it indefinitely! If you're going to do that, use a non-film oil that's also non-curing (or at least, very slowly curing).

Non-film oils are easy too. Simple mineral oil is fine here ("liquid paraffin" from Boots), or there are some vegetable oils that are usable. I use camelia oil (from dick.biz in Germany, but not the Japanese simulated camelia oils for tools). Walnut oil (from a deli, or even Tesco) is good too, particularly for kitchenware. Be wary of other oils though, especially olive, as they can go rancid over time - they oxidise faster than they cure.

You don't need an oil that "feeds" the wood. Wood's dead. Nor do you need to worry about the wood "drying out" (it'll do this anyway, that's a moisture issue). Why you need to replenish oil is because the old oil needs it, not because the wood needs it.

If it were mine, then I'd look at just what finish I wanted (film or non film) and then move to that. Probably I'd go for a few coats (over a week) of Liberon's, then leave it at that and maybe wax it annually afterwards, rather than oiling it. I might even shellac it - most of my oak furniture is finished as shellac over oil.

Reply to
Andy Dingley

I'd use polyurethane :-) except I'd apply it lovingly as if it was oil. The circular rubbing action has more to do with the look than the substance you're using IME. I once tried spraying hot wax, and the finish was absolutely perfect or, to put it another way, absolutely bloody awful because it was so perfect and looked like any other factory finish.

Reply to
Stuart Noble

Interesting - I use walnut oil for cooking, so there's generally a container of it in the kitchen. It doesn't go rancid? I generally treat my wooden kitchen stuff with mineral oil.

Reply to
S Viemeister

I treat my salad bowls, chopping boards etc. with walnut oil because I have it to hand in the kitchen. If I'm oiling wood in the workshop I use mineral oil for cheap, or the camelia for the good stuff.

Reply to
Andy Dingley

I may try that - my boards are overdue for another oiling, and I can't find the mineral oil, but I have loads of walnut oil.

Reply to
S Viemeister

Vaseline is a thicker version of mineral oil. I don't understand why walnut wouldn't go rancid like olive oil. It's just another non-drying vegetable oil surely.

Reply to
Stuart Noble

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