Help with woodcare Understanding finishes

Understanding wood before finishing

Wood is not a neutral surface: it has a grain, pores, tannins or resin, a moisture content, and each of these decides which finish suits it. Open-pored oak and ash drink a hard wax oil and take a liming wax; closed-pored beech prefers a fine oil; pine blotches and needs a Water Stain first; oily teak is degreased with Cellulose Thinners before anything else. Under an oil, sanding stops at 180 grit; the wood must be below 18% moisture.

Page updated September 2026 · by the Mylands France woodcare specialists

Read before you finish

What the wood says before you open a tin

Most failed finishes are not the product's fault but a misread wood: an oil that will not dry on teak, a stain that blotches on pine. Five characters are enough to read it: the grain, the pores, the tannins or resin, the natural oils, the moisture.

The grain is the direction of the fibres: every finish is applied and wiped along it, and every scratch across it shows under a stain. The pores are open and visible on oak, ash and walnut; tight on beech, maple and sycamore. An open-pored wood drinks more, is grain-filled before a varnish, and can be limed; a closed-pored wood stays smooth but absorbs less.

The tannins of oak and chestnut react with iron and water: the wood turns black. The resin of pine makes absorption uneven: that is blotching. The natural oils of teak and iroko push away whatever is put on them until they are degreased. And moisture: above 18%, an oil neither penetrates nor dries.

Six woods

Six woods, and the finish that suits each

Oak, open and tannic

Wide pores, a marked grain, tannins that react with iron. It drinks a hard wax oil like no other wood, is grain-filled before a lacquer, and takes Liming Wax in its pores. A Water Stain Light Oak brightens its honey without reddening it. Never wet wire wool on the bare wood.

Floor · Hard Wax Oil Natural Stain · Water Stain Light Oak

Ash, pale and lively

Pores as open as oak, but an almost white wood with a long, drawn grain. It stays pale under a light hard wax oil and takes Liming Wax in its pores like a chalk drawing. Under a dark stain it reveals flames that oak does not have.

Floor · Hard Wax Oil Crushed Marble Liming · Wax Liming

Beech, closed and even

Tight pores, a quiet grain, a surface that is smooth from 180 grit. It absorbs less than oak: an oil goes on in thin coats, a varnish needs no grain filler. On a beech table, Wood Finishing Oil gives a living matt; Superfine White Polish suits it on a cabinet, not on a table top.

Table · Wood Finishing Oil Furniture · Superfine White Polish

Pine, resinous and blotchy

Soft, knotty, with hard and soft zones that drink differently: a spirit stain blotches on it. On floorboards or a stripped dresser, a Water Stain Antique Pine No. 3 evens it out first; Wax Stripped Pine is the standard on old pine. Knots are sealed only before paint.

Stain · Water Stain Antique Pine No. 3 Wax · Wax Stripped Pine

Walnut, dark and open

Open pores in a purple-brown wood with deep veins. Its pores are filled before a lacquer for a smooth film; under an oil it needs nothing. French Polish gives it the warmth of antique furniture; on a worktop, Pure Tung Oil resists heat and water.

Furniture · French Polish Worktop · Pure Tung Oil

Teak and iroko, oily

Dense, loaded with natural oils that repel finishes. Degrease first with Cellulose Thinners; then an oil rather than a film: Durax Teak Oil outdoors, where it replaces the oils lost to weathering, Wood Finishing Oil or Pure Tung Oil indoors. Sand to 180 grit, never finer.

Degreasing · Cellulose Thinners Outdoors · Durax Teak Oil

In one table

Six woods, their characters, what suits them

What each wood asks for and refuses; the wood-by-wood guides — oak, pine, mahogany and walnut, teak and exotic hardwoods — expand each line.

Wood	Pores, tannins, resin	To avoid	Finishes that suit it
Oak	Open pores; strong tannins, blackens with iron and water	Wet wire wool, lacquer without a grain filler	Hard Wax Oil, Mylac after grain filling, Button Polish, Wax Liming, Water Stain
Ash	Open pores; very pale wood, few tannins	A dark oil if you want to keep it white	Hard Wax Oil Crushed Marble or Pale Slate, Wax Liming, Superfine White Polish
Beech, maple	Closed pores; neither tannins nor resin	Too fine a grit under an oil: the wood burnishes and stops drinking	Wood Finishing Oil, Quick Dry Varnish, Superfine White Polish on a cabinet
Pine, softwoods	Alternating soft and hard wood; resin at the knots, blotching	A spirit stain applied directly, wax on a floor	Water Stain first, Wax Stripped Pine, Hard Wax Oil Castanea, Mylac
Walnut	Open, deep pores; dark veins	Superfine White Polish (cold look), lacquer without a grain filler	French Polish, Garnet Polish, Pure Tung Oil, Hard Wax Oil Wenge
Teak, iroko	Dense wood; abundant natural oils	A film on undegreased wood, sanding beyond 180	Cellulose Thinners then Durax Teak Oil outdoors, Wood Finishing Oil or Pure Tung Oil indoors

Stains never protect: Water Stain, Light Fast Stain, Nitrostain and Earth Stain are always overcoated with a finish — Choosing a wood stain.

Moisture, end grain, sanding

Three things you cannot see that decide everything

Moisture. An oil only penetrates dry wood: below 18% for an oil or a hard wax oil. Let the wood acclimatise in the room where it will live; in the cold, oils do not dry, and lacquers and shellac alike bloom white in a humid atmosphere.

End grain. The ends of a board, the edge of a table top are fibres cut clean across: they drink far more than the face. Under an oil, one coat more; under a stain, a quicker wipe so they do not darken.

Sanding through the grits. You go up without skipping a step — 80, 120, 150, 180 — because each grit erases the scratches of the one before. But where you stop depends on the finish: 120-150 for a floor, 180 for furniture under a hard wax oil, 180 at most under an oil, because a finer grit burnishes the wood and closes its pores. Under a lacquer or a varnish, on the contrary, you go to 220, grain filler included. Under a stain, the sanding must be faultless: it magnifies every scratch. A Water Stain raises the grain slightly: wet the wood, let it dry, de-nib, then stain. The moves in detail are in Wood finishes preparation.

Stain · Water Stain Light Oak Degreasing · Cellulose Thinners Hard wax oil · Hard Wax Oil Natural Oil · Wood Finishing Oil

To avoid

The most common misreadings

Sanding too fine under an oil. Beyond 180 grit the wood burnishes and the pores close: the oil sits on top and goes tacky.
Wet wire wool on oak. Iron, water, tannins: black specks in the wood. Under a water-based finish, never wire wool.
A spirit stain straight onto pine. The soft wood drinks in patches and blotches. A Water Stain first.
Oiling teak without degreasing it. The new oil stays sticky. Cellulose Thinners first.
Finishing damp wood. Above 18%, the oil will not go in and the lacquer blooms.
Skipping a grit. The scratches of 80 grit reappear under a stain, every time.

Frequently asked

Your questions, our answers

How do I know whether my wood is dry enough to oil?

The threshold is 18% moisture for an oil or a hard wax oil. A moisture meter reads it in seconds; without one, let the wood acclimatise for several weeks in the room where it will live, and never oil wood that has just been washed, stripped with water or stored outside.

Why stop at 180 grit under an oil when a lacquer asks for 220?

Because the two finishes do not work in the same place. An oil has to go into the wood: too fine a grit closes the pores and the oil stays on top. A lacquer forms a film: the smoother the surface, the smoother the film. Hence 120-150 for an oiled floor, 180 for oiled furniture, 220 with grain filler under a varnish or a Mylac lacquer.

Can beech or maple be stained?

Yes, but their closed pores take less stain than oak: the colour stays lighter and more even. Test on an offcut, apply with a lint-free cloth in quick strokes along the grain, and always overcoat the stain with a finish, because it does not protect.

My oak has black marks: where do they come from?

Tannins. They react with iron in the presence of water: wire wool used damp, a rusty tool, a screw. Sand the mark back to clean wood, dry it, and under a water-based finish replace wire wool with a synthetic abrasive pad. See Scratches, white rings and water marks.