Wood Treatment

gaz wac

Hi,

I have a 'oiled oak' dining room table which is about 3 years old. At this stage its getting quite marked with food stains, rings etc but as i tried to srub the stains away, that area looks like i've sanded it down and it looks bad. Im thinking of sanding the top and get rid of marks but what type of oils do I use? after its oiled can you put a 'sealer' on it so no marks will appear?

Thanks for your help

S.L.F

gaz wac wrote: »

Hi,

I have a 'oiled oak' dining room table which is about 3 years old. At this stage its getting quite marked with food stains, rings etc but as i tried to srub the stains away, that area looks like i've sanded it down and it looks bad. Im thinking of sanding the top and get rid of marks but what type of oils do I use? after its oiled can you put a 'sealer' on it so no marks will appear?

Thanks for your help

If it was my table I would lightly sand it (grade 120) then wipe it down with a solvent white spirit or cellulose (I suspect this is the wrong spelling) thinners to get it clean.

Then oil it with Danish oil (follow the instructions carefully about stirring it) don't be afraid to put plenty of it on the more the merrier.

When you have finished the first coat leave it for about an hour then oil it again...again plenty.

Leave it for about 24 hours (with the heating on full blast) then option 1 lightly sand it with grade 200 then give it a very fine coat of oil.

or option 2 if you want to seal the table from spills and whatnot after you have given it 2 coats of oil leave it for 24 hours then finish it with an oil based heat resistant varnish.

SLF

gaz wac

Thats great, thanks a million , just one question, should i be sanding the whole table or just the top? if its just the top, with it not be a different colour to the legs , chairs ect ?

Thanks again

S.L.F

gaz wac wrote: »

Thats great, thanks a million , just one question, should i be sanding the whole table or just the top? if its just the top, with it not be a different colour to the legs , chairs ect ?

Thanks again

You are not sanding the table to get through to the raw wood, you are just lightly sanding it to provide a key and to get rid of dirt on the surface. You could even use a pot scrubber to do this (once there is no soap on it of course).

You could bring the whole suite out into your back garden and clean it down with soap (fairy liquid) and a scrubbing brush then spray it with a hose (this would be the fastest method). Just be sure to dry the top with a towel as soon as possible after you've wetted it. Do not leave it wet

Regarding whether or not to sand the whole table, my experience on the issue would be to just do the table top, as it gets most wear and is affected by the sun more, however if you are going through the trouble to do this properly you should do the whole thing legs and all.

The only time I've never seen a table with legs and top the same colour is when they come straight out of the shop, so I wouldn't worry about the colours too much.

Good tip for you. Every few months turn the table the other way around so the sun is not always bleaching the same section of the table.

gaz wac

S.L.F wrote: »

You could even use a pot scrubber to do this

Thats what i was using before but only on the stained area so thats why it looks patchy.

That all great info, thanks again...guess what ill be doing this weekend

p.s will I get that Danish oil in woodies ?

S.L.F

gaz wac wrote: »

Thats what i was using before but only on the stained area so thats why it looks patchy.

All you have done is taken away the finish on the table when you refinish the table the colour will come back.

gaz wac wrote: »

p.s will I get that Danish oil in woodies ?

You can get it most hardware shops.

You should buy at least 1 lt of it and redo the table top every few week/months to keep it up to scratch.

Redoing it takes about 10 mins.

gaz wac

Thanks S.L.F , you saved me a ton cos I was going to get a bloke to do this for me.

Cheers

S.L.F

gaz wac wrote: »

Thanks S.L.F , you saved me a ton cos I was going to get a bloke to do this for me.

Cheers

If you take your time you could have a spectacular table.

My advice would be to after you've oiled the suite put 1 or2 coats of heat resistant satin varnish on the table top

S.L.F

gaz wac wrote: »

you saved me a ton

You'll be getting a bill in the post!!!:D:D:D

gaz wac

I'll let you know how I get on ( when I get a chance to do it!!)

Thanks