Jun,1 2024
Finish guide
The finish guide is short because the wrong habit is usually the same one: too much product, too often.
Dust with a barely damp cloth and dry it. Household polishes build a film that looks smeared and is hard to remove. If the piece is oiled, a drop of the same oil once or twice a year, rubbed thin, is the maintenance. If it is a harder film, do not oil it at all.
Heat and water are the pair to respect. A pan, a laptop that runs hot, and a glass with a wet foot will all print themselves on a young finish.
Oil, wax, and a hard film behave differently under a cup.
Oil can be revived with another thin coat. Wax needs renewing and hates heat. A harder film resists a ring and looks more like a skin. We say which one is on the piece, and the care follows that, not a general rule.
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A finish is there to slow the wear, not to hide the wood.
The first month is when a finish is still settling.
Use coasters. Wipe spills. Do not decide the piece has failed because a new top marks. Tell us if a film peels or an oil stays tacky. Those are faults. A soft sheen where a hand rests is wear.
Colour deepens a little in the first weeks as the finish cures and the light gets to it. That is expected. A patch that goes pale is a water mark, and it wants a gentle, local repair, not a scrub.
Edges wear first, because that is where hands land. An even dulling along an edge is use. A chip that shows bare wood is a knock, and it can be touched in if you ask before you try a hardware-shop product.
Keep the care note that came with the piece. A later owner, or a later you, will not remember whether the top is oil or film.
Send a photograph if you are unsure. We would rather answer than have the wrong product on the wood.
Dust, coasters, and the finish named on the piece. Nothing else belongs in the weekly routine.