Rowena

Kevin Paul Burke asked 2 years ago

Just bought a light oak skirting board but would like to darken it slightly what could you advise don’t want to stain the wood just give the wood a nice finish.

1 Answers
William Stewart Staff answered 2 years ago

Hello Kevin

You have two options, wood oil or a matte clearcoat such as varnish or polyurethane.

Tung oil is a great product as it’s natural and is a hardening oil that nourishes and seals the wood from moisture. The pure tung oil products are pretty clear and don’t darken the wood much, while the polymerized variety offers a darker tinge.

A satin or matte polyurethane or varnish is your other option. I’d use oil-based, as they have a very slight amber tint which will richen the color of timbers like oak. Some varnishes add hard and soft drying oils, further tinting the underlying wood.

Here are two recommendations – Tung oil: https://geni.us/74m8 and polyurethane: https://geni.us/Bc1o

Good luck; I hope that helps.