# Re-finishing an Oak Table - Advice please!



## Philbo (4 Jan 2016)

Hi All,

Looking for a bit of advice with regards to re-finishing a table and some chairs that I am about to buy.

It's second hand, and was originally from Oak Furniture Land, seems solid enough but the top and chairs could so with a sand down and refinish.

What would you recommend to bring the colour back and give a protective finish? Briwax?

any input greatly appreciated!


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## ED65 (4 Jan 2016)

Philbo":6g7zcw32 said:


> It's second hand, and was originally from Oak Furniture Land, seems solid enough but the top and chairs could so with a sand down and refinish.


I'd recommend stripping over sanding. Sanding off old finish is a pain in the bum and can actually do a really terrible job at getting it all off to boot. 



Philbo":6g7zcw32 said:


> What would you recommend to bring the colour back and give a protective finish? Briwax?


My view is that wax is okay for something like a box that just sits there and looks pretty, it's no good where any kind of wear resistance is required. Wax also doesn't give any waterproofing or heat resistance.

The tabletop at least could do with a more protective coating than just wax will provide, varnish or lacquer. I'd wipe on some coats of varnish myself as it's the most accessible technique to getting a durable, waterproof surface with no specialist equipment required. You don't even need a brush or roller


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## Phil Pascoe (4 Jan 2016)

Osmo, Fiddes or similar. Easy to apply, easy to touch up. Don't touch it with wire wool.


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## Philbo (5 Jan 2016)

Thanks guys, very useful. I shall look into those products.

What do you thinking about Danish Oil?


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## Phil Pascoe (5 Jan 2016)

Danish and oak are good. It'll take a few coats. There are some good water based varnishes if you go down that route. If You use polyurethane (oil based) it can take days to dry fully in this cold damp weather.


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## ED65 (5 Jan 2016)

In case you don't know, Danish oil is about equal parts oil and varnish then diluted further by the addition of more white spirit so it spreads more easily. Obviously if you have some oil and varnish already you can easily make your own, then decide how thin you want to make it. 

Any oil+varnish mixture provides much better protection than wax, and better than oil by itself, but is inherently less durable than varnish alone because the oil makes it softer. There's really little to be said in their favour over just using varnish, which can be applied in exactly the same way, dries faster and is more forgiving of variations in application.


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## Phil Pascoe (5 Jan 2016)

Varnish dries faster and is more forgiving in variations in application? You've obviously used different Danish and polyurethanes than I have. I would have said 100% the opposite.


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## ED65 (6 Jan 2016)

phil.p":303mezl6 said:


> You've obviously used different Danish and polyurethanes than I have.


That's likely but it shouldn't make much difference. With products like Danish oil you have to remove all the excess right? While with varnish you can brush on a full coat, wipe it on thinly or anything in between.

As to the drying time, recoat time for Danish oil is about 24 hours while if you wipe on varnish you can often put on the next coat in about 6-12 assuming the same drying conditions.


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## custard (6 Jan 2016)

ED65":37uu8mu1 said:


> In case you don't know, Danish oil is about equal parts oil and varnish then diluted further by the addition of more white spirit so it spreads more easily.



In case you don't know Danish Oil doesn't have an accepted formula, it's whatever a manufacturer want it to be. You could pee in bottle and call it Danish Oil if you wanted to. Consequently the variations are huge, from Blackfriars which is varnish heavy to the budget brands which tend to be varnish light, but of course they could change their formulations tomorrow and not have to tell anyone or amend their packaging in the slightest. Manufacturers don't give much away when it comes to disclosing the ingredients, but I was once based at a workshop which had the commercial heft to tease some facts out from some of them, I can't recall any that had anything remotely like a 50:50 varnish/oil mix, to the best of my recollection they were all long oil finishes, in some cases very, very long oil!

Incidentally, some are packed with terebine driers and can be good for a re-coat after 3 or 4 hours.


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## BearTricks (6 Jan 2016)

Slightly off topic but I'm surprised that oak furniture land was mentioned without someone going spitting mad. It gets more hate than ikea round these parts. 

Sent from my LG-H815 using Tapatalk


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## Phil Pascoe (6 Jan 2016)

I tried to get some information on the differences between Danish and Finishing Oils. It is resins, apparently - finishing oils are not designed for exterior use. One major manufacturer (I can't be bothered to dredge my emails) advised that Danish was suitable for hardwoods other than oak - I asked for more information, but didn't get a reply.


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## Phil Pascoe (6 Jan 2016)

BearTricks":2nrs2lp7 said:


> Slightly off topic but I'm surprised that oak furniture land was mentioned without someone going spitting mad. It gets more hate than ikea round these parts.
> 
> Sent from my LG-H815 using Tapatalk


People's urge to recycle/upcycle is greater than their loathing of Ikea and Oak Furniture Land.


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## ED65 (7 Jan 2016)

custard":3v7vvcqy said:


> ...of course they could change their formulations tomorrow and not have to tell anyone or amend their packaging in the slightest.


The undisclosed ingredients are bad enough but this may be what bothers me most about the commercial products like Danish oil, teak oil etc. Even when you did 'know' what you had there's no guarantee that a couple of years down the line when you finally need a new one that you're getting the same stuff you bought previously that you liked so much


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## Scoffy (12 Jan 2016)

I use Homebase water based floor varnish on the oak funiture that I make, it gives a very durable and pleasing finish. It doesn't change the colour of the wood either like many other finishes do.


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