Solid oak table - nothing fancy, but has served us well for many years.
Made up of separate blocks glued together.

It is located pretty closed to a window, and due to that and the
constant use over the years has now lost its shine. I am no expert on
the matter, but I believe that it was treated with some sort of oil when
we bought it - definitely not varnish.

Planning to give it a gentle sanding first, but What should I use to
treat it with please? Needs to be safe for food obviously.

TIA.

JoeJoe wrote:
Solid oak table - nothing fancy, but has served us well for many years.
Made up of separate blocks glued together.

It is located pretty closed to a window, and due to that and the
constant use over the years has now lost its shine. I am no expert on
the matter, but I believe that it was treated with some sort of oil when
we bought it - definitely not varnish.


May have been boiled linseed oil.

Planning to give it a gentle sanding first, but What should I use to
treat it with please? Needs to be safe for food obviously.

TIA.

On Tuesday, 8 May 2018 12:20:22 UTC+1, Dan S. MacAbre wrote:
JoeJoe wrote:
Solid oak table - nothing fancy, but has served us well for many years.
Made up of separate blocks glued together.

It is located pretty closed to a window, and due to that and the
constant use over the years has now lost its shine. I am no expert on
the matter, but I believe that it was treated with some sort of oil when
we bought it - definitely not varnish.


May have been boiled linseed oil.

that's matt though

Planning to give it a gentle sanding first, but What should I use to
treat it with please? Needs to be safe for food obviously.

TIA.

wrote:
On Tuesday, 8 May 2018 12:20:22 UTC+1, Dan S. MacAbre wrote:
JoeJoe wrote:
Solid oak table - nothing fancy, but has served us well for many years.
Made up of separate blocks glued together.

It is located pretty closed to a window, and due to that and the
constant use over the years has now lost its shine. I am no expert on
the matter, but I believe that it was treated with some sort of oil when
we bought it - definitely not varnish.


May have been boiled linseed oil.

that's matt though


I always wipe most of it off after it's soaked in as much as it's going
to, leaving just what the wood would have normally looked like, but a
little darker and shinier. If you let it pool and shrivel up, it looks
like crap, of course :-)

Oddly, I find it works well with old shoes, too.

Planning to give it a gentle sanding first, but What should I use to
treat it with please? Needs to be safe for food obviously.

TIA.

On 08/05/2018 12:12, JoeJoe wrote:
Solid oak table - nothing fancy, but has served us well for many years.
Made up of separate blocks glued together.

It is located pretty closed to a window, and due to that and the
constant use over the years has now lost its shine. I am no expert on
the matter, but I believe that it was treated with some sort of oil when
we bought it - definitely not varnish.

Planning to give it a gentle sanding first, but What should I use to
treat it with please?Â*Â* Needs to be safe for food obviously.

Danish oil is pretty good for bringing out the grain and making it
waterproof. Or beeswax polish if you don't mind a lot of elbow grease.

Depends a bit on the final surface finish you want to achieve.

--
Regards,
Martin Brown

On Wednesday, 9 May 2018 09:27:58 UTC+1, Martin Brown wrote:
On 08/05/2018 12:12, JoeJoe wrote:
Solid oak table - nothing fancy, but has served us well for many years.
Made up of separate blocks glued together.

It is located pretty closed to a window, and due to that and the
constant use over the years has now lost its shine. I am no expert on
the matter, but I believe that it was treated with some sort of oil when
we bought it - definitely not varnish.

Planning to give it a gentle sanding first, but What should I use to
treat it with please?Â*Â* Needs to be safe for food obviously.

Danish oil is pretty good for bringing out the grain and making it
waterproof. Or beeswax polish if you don't mind a lot of elbow grease.

Depends a bit on the final surface finish you want to achieve.

--
Regards,
Martin Brown

A mixture of one third oil-based varnish, one third white spirits, and one third danish oil works well and is pretty bullet-proof. You need to apply 5-10 layers, leaving it for a few minutes before wiping off the surplus. About 30 minutes later you can add the next layer.

Jonathan

Jonathan wrote:
On Wednesday, 9 May 2018 09:27:58 UTC+1, Martin Brown wrote:
On 08/05/2018 12:12, JoeJoe wrote:
Solid oak table - nothing fancy, but has served us well for many years.
Made up of separate blocks glued together.

It is located pretty closed to a window, and due to that and the
constant use over the years has now lost its shine. I am no expert on
the matter, but I believe that it was treated with some sort of oil when
we bought it - definitely not varnish.

Planning to give it a gentle sanding first, but What should I use to
treat it with please? Needs to be safe for food obviously.

Danish oil is pretty good for bringing out the grain and making it
waterproof. Or beeswax polish if you don't mind a lot of elbow grease.

Depends a bit on the final surface finish you want to achieve.

--
Regards,
Martin Brown

A mixture of one third oil-based varnish, one third white spirits, and one third danish oil works well and is pretty bullet-proof. You need to apply 5-10 layers, leaving it for a few minutes before wiping off the surplus. About 30 minutes later you can add the next layer.

Jonathan


Does this work well with exterior woodwork, too?

Martin wrote:
On Thu, 10 May 2018 10:53:15 +0100, "Dan S. MacAbre" wrote:

Jonathan wrote:
On Wednesday, 9 May 2018 09:27:58 UTC+1, Martin Brown wrote:
On 08/05/2018 12:12, JoeJoe wrote:
Solid oak table - nothing fancy, but has served us well for many years.
Made up of separate blocks glued together.

It is located pretty closed to a window, and due to that and the
constant use over the years has now lost its shine. I am no expert on
the matter, but I believe that it was treated with some sort of oil when
we bought it - definitely not varnish.

Planning to give it a gentle sanding first, but What should I use to
treat it with please? Needs to be safe for food obviously.

Danish oil is pretty good for bringing out the grain and making it
waterproof. Or beeswax polish if you don't mind a lot of elbow grease.

Depends a bit on the final surface finish you want to achieve.

--
Regards,
Martin Brown

A mixture of one third oil-based varnish, one third white spirits, and one third danish oil works well and is pretty bullet-proof. You need to apply 5-10 layers, leaving it for a few minutes before wiping off the surplus. About 30 minutes later you can add the next layer.

Jonathan


Does this work well with exterior woodwork, too?

Use Epifanes
Hard Wood Oil outside. Despite the name it is a varnish


Thanks, I'll write that down somewhere...

On Thursday, May 10, 2018 at 11:10:52 PM UTC+1, Dan S. MacAbre wrote:
Martin wrote:
On Thu, 10 May 2018 10:53:15 +0100, "Dan S. MacAbre" wrote:

Jonathan wrote:
On Wednesday, 9 May 2018 09:27:58 UTC+1, Martin Brown wrote:
On 08/05/2018 12:12, JoeJoe wrote:
Solid oak table - nothing fancy, but has served us well for many years.
Made up of separate blocks glued together.

It is located pretty closed to a window, and due to that and the
constant use over the years has now lost its shine. I am no expert on
the matter, but I believe that it was treated with some sort of oil when
we bought it - definitely not varnish.

Planning to give it a gentle sanding first, but What should I use to
treat it with please? Needs to be safe for food obviously.

Danish oil is pretty good for bringing out the grain and making it
waterproof. Or beeswax polish if you don't mind a lot of elbow grease.

Depends a bit on the final surface finish you want to achieve.

--
Regards,
Martin Brown

A mixture of one third oil-based varnish, one third white spirits, and one third danish oil works well and is pretty bullet-proof. You need to apply 5-10 layers, leaving it for a few minutes before wiping off the surplus. About 30 minutes later you can add the next layer.

Jonathan


Does this work well with exterior woodwork, too?

Use Epifanes
Hard Wood Oil outside. Despite the name it is a varnish


Thanks, I'll write that down somewhere...

Just one point of interest. 'Danish Oil' is not a defined product. Different manufacturers use different mixes. Some better than others. It appears to have garnered the same mystical beliefs as 'hand waxed'. All nonsense of course.

On Thursday, 10 May 2018 10:53:17 UTC+1, Dan S. MacAbre wrote:
Jonathan wrote:
On Wednesday, 9 May 2018 09:27:58 UTC+1, Martin Brown wrote:
On 08/05/2018 12:12, JoeJoe wrote:
Solid oak table - nothing fancy, but has served us well for many years.
Made up of separate blocks glued together.

It is located pretty closed to a window, and due to that and the
constant use over the years has now lost its shine. I am no expert on
the matter, but I believe that it was treated with some sort of oil when
we bought it - definitely not varnish.

Planning to give it a gentle sanding first, but What should I use to
treat it with please? Needs to be safe for food obviously.

Danish oil is pretty good for bringing out the grain and making it
waterproof. Or beeswax polish if you don't mind a lot of elbow grease.

Depends a bit on the final surface finish you want to achieve.

--
Regards,
Martin Brown

A mixture of one third oil-based varnish, one third white spirits, and one third danish oil works well and is pretty bullet-proof. You need to apply 5-10 layers, leaving it for a few minutes before wiping off the surplus. About 30 minutes later you can add the next layer.

Jonathan


Does this work well with exterior woodwork, too?

I don't know. I've never tried it.

Jonathan

On 08/05/2018 12:12, JoeJoe wrote:

Solid oak table - nothing fancy, but has served us well for many years.
Made up of separate blocks glued together.

It is located pretty closed to a window, and due to that and the
constant use over the years has now lost its shine. I am no expert on
the matter, but I believe that it was treated with some sort of oil when
we bought it - definitely not varnish.

Oil is a common way of finishing many woods. I use it frequently on
projects. The original is probably a Tung oil blend of some kind.

Planning to give it a gentle sanding first, but What should I use to
treat it with please?

If its an oiled finish, then its usually easy to top up the finish.
However you will need to strip any build up of wax or polish first.

Wipe on a coat, leave to sink in for a few mins then wipe off any
excess. Wait a few hours for it to dry, and repeat. Do at least 4 coats,
but as many as you want to get the amount of lustre you are after. Wax
when done. If you apply the wax with the rough side of a nylon kitchen
scourer[1] then you will clean off any "nibs" in the finish as well as
knocking back the shine a bit to a nice satin finish.

[1] Traditionally 0000 wire wool is used for this stage, but that is not
advisable on Oak since there is a possibility that any tiny fragments of
metal that get left could react with oak's high tannin content, and
cause black stains

Needs to be safe for food obviously.

Normally a "pure tung oil" is used for that... although how food safe a
dining table needs to be is debatable (assuming you are using plates! ;-)

--
Cheers,

John.

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