Finish for a small oak cupboard

[Adrian Thompson]

Morning,
I'm currently making a small, oak cupboard - dovetails etc - it will probably go in a bathroom - the wood is old English oak, well figured and I'm proposing to use Tung oil and then finish with Beeswax - I've had good results with Tung oil on chopping boards so am proposing to follow suit
I'm not a 'finish' artist so would appreciate any advice - I'm keen to keep the colour rather than it going dark - many thanks

 

[profchris]

Oil will darken it somewhat - try on scrap to see if you like the effect. If not, a water based varnish shouldn't change the colour much, but I don't like the look of those varnishes - again, a trial pot to use on scrap is sensible, and cheap compared to the effort you're putting in to making it.

Most important is keeping it out of direct sunlight, which will darken it no matter what the finish.

One thing to consider is that bathrooms suffer humidity spikes several times a day, and your wood will move around with those changes. This can loosen joints and, depending on the grain orientation of your wider boards, lead to warping. Worth thinking about if you have a choice of locations.