Hand-Rubbed Oil Finishes
Home-brew advice and application tips for a traditional hand-rubbed furniture finish. January 18, 2007
Question
Our customer has requested a custom teak parson coffee table with a hand rubbed oil finish. Does anyone have advice as to which oil finishing products and techniques to use?
Forum Responses
(Finishing Forum)
From contributor R:
Use teak oil. Easy to use and finishes like tung oil.
From contributor C:
Be sure to educate your customer about maintenance and water spotting, etc. A true hand rubbed oil finish is sometimes ten applications or many more with fine and ultra fine sanding with oil and then applications without sanding. And then finally waxing several coats for more protection. The newer oil and poly blends like Sam Maloof's and many others, is a much more forgiving finish with the depth of an oil finish with a lot better moisture tolerance. It can be sanded and built up beautifully, or left thin with three or so coats and be very dependable.
From contributor J:
The Sam Maloof product is what I use. It is available at Rockler (I think they have an exclusive deal with Sam). The Maloof finish has two different parts - the poly/oil finish and the oil/wax finish. I sand to 320 grit, apply 3 coats of the poly/oil finish, then 3 coats of the oil/wax finish. You apply the finish, then completely wipe it off and let it dry, repeat... Easy as pie.
From contributor O:
Do you need to let it dry any length of time between coats?
From contributor L:
Back in the good ol' days when I did custom furniture, my standard finish was about 1/3 of each gloss urethane varnish, Danish oil, and naphtha. It can be rubbed in with as many coats as your arm will take, but produces a very durable finish that has the feel of a hand rubbed oil. The first coat is soaked on until the wood won't absorb any more, then while still wet, sanded with very fine wet and dry. On maple or cherry only one sand-in is usually required. Woods that are more porous will need more sanded-in coats. You should rub the finish until it is about dry, much like French polishing. I don't like to use waxes because you're screwed if you have to refinish, especially on a porous wood. This process will give you the silky smooth hand rubbed feel and very good durability. You can vary the percentage to match the weather conditions. Too much varnish and it gets sticky too soon for larger areas. I've got several pieces of furniture that I made for myself that are 30 years old and they have held up very well. I made a teak bedroom set for a client 20 years ago and it still looks good. The solvent helps bond the finish to teak in addition to making the process workable. Coffee tables are subject to spills and really need a durable finish.
