You chose interior, darken & amber, moderate durability, moderate sheen.
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Option 1: An all in one oil and wax blend (difficulty: easy)
Ok, I might be bias, as KB Oil Wax is my own, hand-made in the UK wood finishing wax - but as it is a blend of filtered beeswax and oil (plus mineral spirits in the Original formula) it both nourishes and brings out the beauty in wood grain adding durability, smoothness and sheen and is quick and easy to apply.
Available in Original (great for picture frames, ornaments etc) or Food Safe (great for chopping boards, wooden kitchenware etc). It's an all-in-one product designed to be quick and easy to apply and give great results. Can also be used on metal to protect from rust.
Apply using a lint-free cloth, 0000 steel wool or paint brush and rub off any excess immediately - a little goes a long way! Leave to dry and then buff with a clean lint-free cloth - an old cotton T-shirt or bed sheet works great!
Can be applied to bare wood, or over existing wood finishes for extra protection and can also be used on metal to prevent it from rusting.
KB Oil-Wax Original - KB Oil-Wax Food Safe - KB Oil-Wax Double Pack:
Option 2: Any oil designed for wood (e.g. boiled linseed oil, mineral oil, teak oil, tung oil, danish oil) optionally followed by a clear furniture wax once the oil has fully cured (difficulty: easy)
Oils soak in to the wood, filling the pores which gives a reasonable amount of protection from moisture. It is not a film finish (i.e. it doesn't provide a protective coating on the surface of the wood) - although one exception is Danish oil which is (usually) a blend of oil and varnish.
There are many different varieties of oils for wood: tung oil, boiled linseed oil, teak oil, mineral oil, walnut oil... There are also products that are a combination of oil and varnish usually sold as "Danish oil", although the recipes are different from brand to brand.
All of these oils will vary in terms of performance (drying/curing times etc), but most of them will give very similar results in terms of appearance. Even mineral oil will darken and amber wood, even though it is transparent in colour.
My advice would be to read the manufacturer's instructions and make a decision and don't worry too much about appearance - they'll all make the wood grain "pop" and nourish the wood, darkening it and giving it an amber/yellow colour similarly.
Personally, I tend to use boiled linseed oil as it is inexpensive.
If you're looking for a food safe oil for chopping boards, fruit bowls etc., mineral oil, walnut oil and pure tung oil are the safest options, although some people say that all wood finishes are food safe providing they're fully cured before use.
Waxing after oil (optional)
Waxing after oil will add a little more durability, smoothness and sheen.
A non-oil based clear furniture wax can be applied using a clean cotton cloth, 0000 steel wool or paint brush and rub off any excess immediately - a little goes a long way!
Please note, some oil recipe ingredients (particularly with oils like tung oil and danish oil) vary depending on what brand you choose. You can find some good wax options underneath the oil options below
Bartoline / Rustins / Liberon Boiled Linseed Oil - 300ml https://geni.us/mPgPt3y 500ml https://geni.us/xnJTP 1l https://geni.us/kkgV 2l https://geni.us/iiZH 5l https://geni.us/AkQtPG7 (Amazon Affiliate Links)
Bartoline Teak Oil - 1l https://geni.us/wb3H 2l https://geni.us/G1Ziqx 5l https://geni.us/GBglYL5 Teak Oil Bartoline 1l https://geni.us/aY25 2l https://geni.us/sob533C 5l https://geni.us/JuiwWW Liberon - 1l https://geni.us/wn2MkRK Minwax Teak Oil - quart/946ml https://geni.us/0Z6yqJp AquakTeak - 16oz https://geni.us/2r8eqJ Rust-Oleum - Quart / 946ml https://geni.us/ooAj (Amazon Affiliate Links)
Liberon Pure Tung Oil - 250ml https://geni.us/uXnnC 500ml https://geni.us/C8H6Ys 1l https://geni.us/Ca1ZGzj 5l https://geni.us/8mQyc9z Watco - quart / 946ml https://geni.us/vhp8k1I (Amazon Affiliate Links)
Walnut Oil by Mystic Moments - 500ml https://geni.us/dzQhAe 1l https://geni.us/q3U8GN 5l https://geni.us/ELwvO Chalk Mountain 16oz / 454ml https://geni.us/XyU6 32oz / 900ml https://geni.us/wlULz (Amazon Affiliate Links)
Mineral Oil by Mystic Moments - 500ml https://geni.us/RvzbB 1l https://geni.us/z1QrXGZ 5l https://geni.us/HSSZ UltraPro - 1 gallon / 4.54l https://geni.us/ob5G6 Sanco Industries 1 gallon/4.54l https://geni.us/FnOn3 (Amazon Affiliate Links)
Danish Oil Rustins (various sizes) https://geni.us/Ir0Ns65 Liberon 1l https://geni.us/aAYA1PU 2.5l https://geni.us/0wuwZD5 Parr's 250ml (labelled food safe) https://geni.us/L51d3YR Parr's 500ml (labelled food safe) https://geni.us/4RTVc Ronseal Colron 500ml https://geni.us/ijJwL Tried and True (various sizes) https://geni.us/8EUVd65 Watco Wipe On - quart / 946ml https://geni.us/AbTKOnA (Amazon Affiliate Links)
Briwax Clear - 400g https://geni.us/dAWZDh (USA) 5l https://geni.us/2fj8isk (Amazon Affiliate Links)
Fiddes Supreme Wax Polish Clear - 400ml https://geni.us/t97yu 5l https://geni.us/EaAe (Amazon Affiliate Links)
Rust-Oleum Furniture Finishing Wax Clear - 400ml https://geni.us/M45O7 (Amazon Affiliate Links)
Johnson Paste Wax - 16oz https://geni.us/8HNACQ1 (Amazon Affiliate Links)
Liberton Black Bison Wax Polish Clear - 500ml https://geni.us/lcixC (Amazon Affiliate Links)
Liberon Beeswax Clear - 500ml https://geni.us/TfeXo (Amazon Affiliate Links)
Furniture Clinix Beeswax Polish - 200ml https://geni.us/mWoOSzF (Amazon Affiliate Links)
Ronseal Finishing Wax Clear - 325g https://geni.us/RER7SOR (Amazon Affiliate Links)
Johnstone's Finishing Wax Clear - 500ml https://geni.us/BAcO7 (Amazon Affiliate Links)
Minwax Paste Finishing Wax - 1 pound https://geni.us/V0JTEqU (Amazon Affiliate Links)
Option 3: Shellac (difficulty: hard)
This is a similar concept to option 2, basically using shellac to bring out the grain of the wood plus darken/amber it, followed by varnish for maximum durability and protection. The difference is that shellac is itself a film finish, whereas oil soaks in to the wood. However shellac isn't particularly durable on it's own, but it is a very beautiful finish, and is typically used on antiques using a technique called "french polishing".
It dries extremely quickly, and you must work fast and maintain a wet edge at all times while applying to get an even finish - therefore it is one of the more challenging finishes to apply well. The more coats you apply, the more depth and sheen it gives.
For a top quality smooth finish, I recommend de-nibbing (sanding) in between coats with some wet and dry paper (I use 400 grit but 240-600 will work too) - how to denib.
Can be applied to bare wood or over almost all existing finishes (except for wax).
Apply using a brush, clean cotton cloth, or wrap a cotton cloth around a piece of cotton wool to create a soft application pad.
Available pre-mixed in many different colours (ranging from light or "blonde" to dark or "garnet" and everything in between), or as flakes that can be diluted using solvents. Personally, I stick to the ready mixed liquids. It is sometimes sold as "sanding sealer", "button polish", "french polish"
On the left is white shellac, on the right is brown french polish shellac - you can see the colour variation
Optional extra: Shellac can be over coated with a furniture wax for added protection and smoothness if desired (wax options are shown above in Option 2).
Shellac options...
Briwax Shellac Sanding Sealer - 500ml https://geni.us/q7JjdDT (Amazon Affiliate Links)
Rustins French Polish - 125ml https://geni.us/HeoK French Polish - 300ml https://geni.us/zWzlZW Sanding Sealer - 300ml https://geni.us/hlgAs Button Polish 300ml https://geni.us/TXuBn (Amazon Affiliate Links)
Liberon French Polish 1l https://geni.us/VZaBB2 Sanding Sealer 500ml https://geni.us/y5ABQ Garnet Polish 250ml https://geni.us/VR0uw Black Polish 250ml https://geni.us/hRdi Easy French Polish 250ml https://geni.us/diWX (Amazon Affiliate Links)
Zinsser Bulls Eye SealCoat 1l https://geni.us/zjPHv Bulls Ete SealCoat Quart / 946ml https://geni.us/SLAhx Shellac Quart https://geni.us/AAyrDHl (Amazon Affiliate Links)
Liberon 250g Blonde Shellac Flakes https://geni.us/msBlvH Lemon Shellac Flakes 250g https://geni.us/BYcSL Garnet Shellac Flakes 250g https://geni.us/aj4Wg (Amazon Affiliate Links)
Old World Shellac 16oz/454ml Super Blonde https://geni.us/yyDe 16oz/454ml Blonde https://geni.us/oFTt 16oz/454ml Platina https://geni.us/Ckxd (Amazon Affiliate Links)
