Hello. I have this oak door. 7ft 6ins high, 4ft wide and 4ins thick. Made in 1917 but I've had the pleasure of living with it for only the last 23 years, it is still in lovely condition. This afternoon whilst giving it the semi-annual coat of teak oil I wondered if there was a more modern/better alternative to such oil. The thought struck me that whilst oil is a traditional finish, and has worked well so far, oil and (rain)water are not happy bedfellows.
Thanks
Nick.
If it ain't broke, don't fix it.
Agreed, the beauty of oiled finishes is it is damn easy to spruce them up. The minute you slap on some poly or varnish, assuming you can get them to stick, you are saddled with having to sand the buggers to get the next coat to stick. And the sit on the wood not in it, so you can only put so many coats on before you have take them all back.
So resist the temptation, sometimes the folks back then were onto a good thing and we haven't improved it.
Peter
Have something to add? Share your thoughts — no account required.
Ask the community — no account required