Thread: Sealing in patina

If you want to seal what you have and minimise what additional patina is added to it then a mat poly would be one way to go however it won't look anywhere near as good as something like a danish oil. Once the poly gets old and if it gets damaged then it will look tatty and may need to be sanded down and a new coat applied - although that could also be part if the patina )

Something like a Danish oil will suit an old table better and will allow additional patina to be added and yet it will still look good. Although any oil will need to be applied more often any patching up is easy.

Whatever you do you should try it out on a similar piece of wood to see if it is what you are after.

I am not sure you canmseal in a patina so to speak as patina isnthe surface thatnhas built up overr years of use and wear.
You could maintain it wth a good quality clear wax polish.wax while is not terribly durable as a finish but can be easily re-applied and buffed up as may times as you want.Provided you don't subject the top to extreme heat or damp it should be fine.

You can apply an oil finish as already suggested making it more durable but will darken the surface overtime.

Originally Posted by Yeastbeast

G'day everybody,

First post here.

I bought a 110 year old house recently and needed some furniture. Being the tight bugger I am and also hating Ikea I knocked a kitchen table out of door from the catching pen of an old woolshed on the farm. The door is pine floorboards so it's on at least it's third incarnation I would guess.

I would like to know what would be the best way to finish this to seal in the patina but still have a useable surface I can wipe down (it being my kitchen table and all

I shamelessly didn't even search or google because I hoped you guys would appreciate a few pics of what I've made (I'm not much of a carpenter)

IMG_1518[1].jpgIMG_1518[1].jpgIMG_1512[1].jpg
Cheers, everybody

Wax will give a more natural finish than oil but more wax will get trapped in the "pantina" than oil. By that I mean that wax will end up in cracks etc, this in turn trap dirt etc. This is also a kind of patina but I don't think it adds to the overall look. I agree that oil will darken the wood so best to try it out on a smiler piece first.

Yes all true BoB
Anything you add to the surface is going to change the patination over time, not necessarily a bad thing.
I suppose the only way to maintain the surface to stay the same is to leave it and give it the occasional wipe over with a slightly damp lint free cloth and some very mild detergent.I suppose as the timber was previously floorboards they can take a fair bit of abuse.

Sorry about all the typos in previous post, this tablet keyboard drives me nuts

Originally Posted by BobL

Wax will give a more natural finish than oil but more wax will get trapped in the "pantina" than oil. By that I mean that wax will end up in cracks etc, this in turn trap dirt etc. This is also a kind of patina but I don't think it adds to the overall look. I agree that oil will darken the wood so best to try it out on a smiler piece first.

I can see you are going for the rustic look. Traditionally, kitchen tables were scrubbed clean daily or weekly depending on use. The scrubbing makes for a food-safe surface and, over time, adds to the patina. The result, as seen in 100 year old Huon Pine and other pine kitchen tables, is a lovely, mellow surface with rounded edges.

Contemporary treatment of these table with a finish does make them look "old" but is not true to the style.

Don't want to rain on anyones parade here but if it was in a wool shed and wasn't coated with half an inch of lead paint then it is probably full of lanolin and may not take too many finishes without causing a problem.

Oil should be ok but may not dry properly. Wax should work alright and should dry to a nice finish without taking away from the patina of the timber. However as has already been said it isn't all that durable but it is infinitely repairable although you may have to set up a weekly or monthly waxing regime to keep it looking at its best.

The weekly scrubbing down with a big old block of sand soap was definitely a done thing. I remember helping my grandmother do it some 60 odd years ago and in all honesty I wouldn't want to go back to that in this day and age. The massive (NZ kauri pine) kitchen table looked fantastic but marked up very easily with almost anything and eventually ended up covered in lino as so many others did.

Cheers - Neil
U-Beaut Polishes

I did a job last year along these lines. My friend wanted to re-use a workbench from her garage. We turned it into a mobile kitchen worktop and a window seat. she also wanted to retain the "worked on" look of the oregon boards from the bench top. I cleaned then with a wood cleaner and then finished with two coats of Polyx Satin. The cleaner took out a lot of the dirt and dust but left the deeper stains and texture of the "worked" top.

I acknowledge the greater knowledge and experience of others on this forum, but it looked pretty good in the end. Of course the wood I used was not lanolin saturated.

20140710_152000.jpgwindow seat photo.jpg

Cheers for the advice everyone. Particularly about trying a test. I'm away fishing for another week or so but will have an experiment when I get home. I'll most likely go with a wax if it looks like it will do what I want it to.

If the boards are likely to be covered in lanolin, why don't you finish it with...........lanolin? (search for Lanotec)

It's basically like paste wax anyway, food safe, and I'm sure burnishing the surface with it would give a lovey lustre.

Just a thought

John