The stripping process is most of the time finished with wax or oil. Other than giving it a natural shine, waxing and oiling gives wooden items a basic layer of protection. As part of our stripping process, applying a wax or oil finish is optional, but highly recommended. It is one of the essential steps in preserving wooden items and keeping them last longer. 

However, when offered, people are sometimes questioning whether a wax or oil finish would be the right choice for their wooden items. In order to clear their doubts, we will go a bit deeper into the topic and help out with the choice. 

Wax Finish

When it comes to wax finish, it can be accentuated that wax finish is sold in different forms, including liquid, paste and solid and also different colours. Wax comes in clear, amber, wood tones, and white. Wax can come from plenty of mineral, animal and vegetable sources. 

Also, the softness of waxes varies, the hardest ones being softer than lacquers and varnishes. However, the softer the wax, the less the protection it gives from scratches and usage. Also, no matter the texture of the wax, none of them penetrates into the wood, but rather sits on top of it. 

The wax finish helps in preventing the wood from oxidizing, changing its colour to gray. However, it doesn’t enhance the wood. Also, most wax types will melt at low temperatures, meaning they won’t protect your wooden items from heat. But, wax offers a good protection against water or food spills or stains.

The application of wax in liquid or paste form is done by rubbing it in and wiping it off. Using fine steel wool can be a good application tool, which can be wiped off with paper towels. However, wiping off the wax immediately, it might lose its shine. For that reason, you should first let it dry and then buff it with a soft wipe.

What Type of Wax Do We Use?

For waxing our products we use a clear supreme wax that is environmentally friendly and provides a natural glow to the wood. It is odour free and also quick to dry, providing high protection to the wood to which it is applied. 

Oil Finish

Contrary to the wax finish, the oil finish molecules are quite small and they penetrate deep into the wood rather than sitting on top of it. Oil will make the wood look richer without adding a film on its surface. The translucent finish of oil is what attracts customers to use it. 

The two different types of oils that are used are drying and non-drying. The drying oils (nut oils) will change from liquid to a solid film whenever they are exposed to oxygen in the air. On the other hand, the non-drying oils include vegetable oils and mineral oils. For instance, edible mineral oils are popularly used on food contact items such as cutting boards or wooden utensils for cooking. 

However, the non-drying oils are most of the time considered wood treatments instead of wood finishes because they won’t dry to make a solid film and can be washed off with soap and water. The most commonly used drying oil as a finish is boiled linseed oil which is also the least expensive. 

Danish Oil - The Oil Finish That We Use

Danish oil finish is a thin oil and varnish mixture that will accentuate the wood’s beauty, while offering a layer of protection against heat, chemicals, scratches or stains. The colours that we use are natural to the wood that we are doing a finish on.