How to Oil a Table

Wooden tables need a finishing coat to protect them from stains and rot. This coat is often made of commercially prepared products, such as shellac. However, oil has been used traditionally to finish wood surfaces and it still works today. Many types of oil are used to finish wood, and the best variety depends on the type of wood being finished. Danish oil is a common, general-purpose oil that works for oak, ash and mahogany. Danish oil is either clear or tinted and will darken the wood's color.

Things You'll Need

Various grades of sandpaper
Danish oil

Soft rags or cloths
Paste wax

Instructions

- 1
  Prepare the wood by finishing the piece, if you are building it from scratch, by planing, scraping and sanding it smooth. If you are resurfacing an older piece, sand it using progressively smoother sandpaper until you are using 180-to-220 grit paper. You can even use up to 320-grit paper on some wood. Wipe off all the sanding dust before proceeding.
- 2
  Apply Danish oil liberally to the wood's surface using a soft, lint-free cloth. Use a thick coating of oil. Wait 30 minutes. Reapply the oil if the surface dries during the waiting period. Buff off excess oil with a dry cloth.
- 3
  Add another heavy coat of oil to the wood and let it sit for 15 minutes. Buff off the remaining oil. Rebuff the surface every half hour as the oil seeps back out of the wood. The seeping will last for several hours. Keep checking the wood until the seeping stops.
- 4
  Sand a coat of oil into the wood every other day. Apply the oil and wet sand it into the surface. Use 320-grit paper the first day and move up to a finer paper each day that you sand. Finish when you reach 600-grit paper. Buff off all excess oil after each application. Don't allow the oil to get tacky.
- 5
  Wipe on a paste wax and buff it into the surface. This is the final coat for the table. Use the same wax to restore the table's sheen every couple of years.

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