Caring for oiled furniture

CARE OF OILED WOODEN FURNITURE

First of all, you need to remember that wood is a natural material growing in nature. The color and texture of the wood gives each furniture surface its uniqueness. It is characteristic of wood that the texture and color vary under different lighting conditions, so this phenomenon is considered completely normal. This only confirms the high quality of the materials and cannot be the basis for making a claim. Like other natural materials, wood is affected by excessively wet or dry weather. Even when coated with quality oils, wood can swell or shrink. The furniture should be operated in a room with moderate temperature and relative humidity.

Solid wood furniture is sensitive to direct sunlight and direct rays from light sources. Due to exposure to these rays, the color saturation may change. The change in shade and color intensity usually occurs in solid wood furniture. Furniture made of wood can age naturally, "veins" can appear on this furniture. This is a normal reaction. The furniture should be cleaned in the direction of the wood fiber structure, as it cleans the facade better without clogging the smallest recesses of the solid structure.

It is forbidden to wash solid wood furniture with large amounts of water, because the surface of the wood may blister and the surface may peel off from the main part. Such surfaces can be cleaned with a cloth moistened in a neutral liquid soap solution and well wrung out. After wiping the surface with a damp cloth, it should be wiped dry immediately. Excess moisture entering the interior of the facade through the joints can cause microcracks. To avoid this, you need to drain. Grease and other very dirty stains must not be allowed to dry on the surface, as these areas can cause permanent stains on the wood.

The surface of natural wood must be protected from impact, mechanical damage, and sharp objects. Do not allow surfaces to rub against metal objects.

Wooden surfaces must be protected from any aggressive substances (thinners, gasoline, acids, acetone, etc.)

If your furniture is not made of synthetic material, but of natural wood, such things as small point branches, wood grooves, variations in the color of each board, unevenness of the wood structure should not confuse you. On the contrary, this is exactly what emphasizes the natural beauty of wooden furniture. Solid wood furniture is durable because it can always be renewed . This is a big advantage. With proper care, solid oak furniture can be enjoyed for many years.

The biggest enemies of wooden furniture are extreme heat, extreme cold, sun, moisture, water, and sudden weather changes. It is very important to find a suitable place for them, so that they are not near a heat source or a window. Heat emanating from a heat source (radiator, air vent, fireplace), direct sunlight can damage furniture, it can start to crack, change color. Furniture made of natural wood is afraid of heat and water. Therefore, if water has spilled on it, it should be dried immediately, if the furniture is oiled, stains may remain.

Wood, a natural product of nature, has the ability to change its color over time, no matter what finish it is applied to. The color of the wood is not one shade or pattern, each tree is different, grows in different conditions.

Try to place solid wood furniture as far as possible from radiators, air conditioners or air conditioners, wooden furniture is damaged by temperature fluctuations.
Oil the oiled furniture at least as often as indicated in the recommendations.
During the heating season, solid wood furniture can dry out, so it is recommended to humidify the indoor air. If the air humidity is lower than 55% , there is a risk that the furniture will crack. This happens not because of the fault of the manufacturer, but because of incorrect operation.
During the non-heating season, when the air humidity rises above 70% , wooden furniture attracts moisture from the environment, expands, moving parts can start to interfere with each other, so the rooms need to be dried.
Do not store wooden furniture in direct sunlight. The surface of wooden furniture is adversely affected by direct sunlight, the wood fades and splits.
Change the location of objects, accessories or accessories on wooden furniture so that they do not lie in the same place all the time, even if the furniture fades, bright spots will not remain on it.
Some plastic or rubber items contain substances that can damage the finish of wooden furniture and stains may appear, so it is better to choose the place of their installation more carefully or use soft covers and napkins.
Clean up dirt immediately. It is better to clean with a highly absorbent material rather than scrubbing. Water that has not been cleaned for a long time will leave white spots on the furniture. Alcohol, perfumes, aftershaves and medications can seriously damage the surface.
Do not use several types of cleaning products at once or at the same time.

It usually takes 3 - 9 months for the furniture to reach the buyer from the manufacturer. The oil is already absorbed into the wood. Therefore, it is highly recommended to re-oil the furniture before putting it into operation. How to do it:

You buy furniture oil. Please note that the oil is specifically for the furniture:

Oils have different bases (in English - base). If you use the wrong base oil, there is a high probability that your furniture will get white spots. And then you will remove the new oil from the surface by long and tedious scrubbing with sandpaper. Our furniture is oiled with colorless linseed oil.

Oil intended for furniture does not contain harmful impurities, so you can safely add food products. If you have floor or other oil left over from construction - we do not recommend oiling furniture with it for the reasons mentioned above.

But if you decided to take a risk - then we recommend covering the invisible side of the furniture with an unknown oil (for example - turn the table over and cover some 20x20 cm from the inside of the table). Wait 12 hours. If nothing happened - try oiling the entire piece of furniture. Good luck!

Sometimes customers ask - can we use olive or sunflower edible oil? We do not recommend it, because cooking oil, like any food, can start to give off an unpleasant smell when it expires. Each product has its own purpose. Furniture oil absorbs better than food oil. You can use edible oil, but the result will be worse.

Ambient temperature

The ambient temperature must be at least 20 C, then the oil is well absorbed into the surface. Of course, you can work at lower temperatures, but the result of your work will be worse (the oil will not soak into the wood so well);

Prepare the surface

You run your hand across the surface of the furniture. The hand is much more sensitive than the eye to assess surface roughness. If you feel a rough surface, polish that area with fine sandpaper (grit number/caliber must be at least 180). Scrubbing should be done along the grain of the wood, never across!

What happens if you scrub across the grain of the wood / across the slats? Nothing terrible will happen from this, but as a result you will only scratch the surface and still, in order to get a smooth surface, you will need to complete the sanding by scrubbing along the grain of the wood.

Surface oiling

You pour furniture oil into a flat container and cover the entire surface of the furniture with a cotton cloth, the oil begins to soak into the surface.

Wait 15-20 minutes; the oil, depending on the structure of the wood, will be absorbed in one place, and not yet in another. You then run the same cloth over the surface of the furniture again to smooth/disperse the excess oil.

You wait a few minutes and wipe off the excess oil with a clean, dry cotton cloth or paper kitchen towel. And if you don't clean it - what will happen? After 24 hours, the oil hardens and the places where there were oil drops or balls will be shiny like varnish, and where the oil has been absorbed, there will be a matte surface. And then you will need to use sandpaper no. 180 (and a higher number) to help.

Repeat everything after half a year or so

It is recommended to renew the finish every six months or at least once a year. We recommend re-oiling furniture that is used more often, such as a table top, more often.

Video link for oiling furniture https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2UiPwtHttUg&app=desktop