Oak is a beautiful wood that takes years to mature to the size used for furniture making. It is one f the strongest and most respected woods in the furniture making process, and looking after those items within you home is essential not only from a value point of view, but from an aesthetic one.

Bearing in mind that many owners will have oak furniture that has never been finished in any way, the guidelines given below are split into different sections, taking into account:

*Planed wood
*Factory finished wood
*Stains
*Upkeep
*Annual cleanup of build up products

Planed wood furniture

Oak is a beautiful wood with a splendid grain, and finishing a wooden furniture product matters since the finish chosen will determine the lasting ability of the piece, and take into account its usage. For example, a table that is used on a regular basis will have different needs to an occasional table, since a hardened finish will need to be achieved that with withstand daily abuse.

To finish an oak table, some form of sealer is required, because Oak without a finishing product will stain with age and penetration to the surface will darken the wood. Here, in many instances, it is a fashion for kitchen tables to be sold with no finish and the idea is that the darkening of the wood will enhance the look, though it is questionable whether this practice is wise, since the grain of the oak means that germs can be trapped more readily than with woods of a finer grain.

Here a finishing oil is advisable since this will nourish the wood as well as protecting it, and stop the wood from drying out and twisting. This will need to be done many times before the piece of furniture is fully protected, each time buffing up with a cloth to a nice finish.

Factory finished wood.

Factory finished oak wood furniture will usually come with its own instructions for upkeep, though it is important to remember with a dark wood such as oak that many of the wax polishes that have a white appearance get caught in the grain and under different light will show up. Here, using a clear beeswax polish is a much better bet, since you will retain the quality of the wood, and enhance the grain.

Stains

Oak is susceptible to staining, and the only ways to deal with this depend upon the depth of the stain or mark. Marks that are just on the surface can be touched up with a special pencil made for the purpose which fills small cracks and makes them less visible. Those cup marks and bigger

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