Rustic pine

[fairydust]

I have a lovely pine unfinished table and would love to have a rustic finish on it.

When ever i've finished pine off it looks orangery and we coat the top with clear varnish and it looks naff.

Any ideas??

wax it with a natural finish wax?

will that then leave it - wipeable as well or will i have to varnish the top??

i think you have to apply quite a few layers of wax before the wood is properly protected

it gives more of a natural finish than varnish, i think it's better for the wood and it certainly won't look orange!

iirc it's BriWax you want

mnay thanks for that

If you want the colour to be slightly darker than the 'white' try a stain first IIRC we used english oak. Try a little bit on the underside of the table top first. You then need to wax on top of that. If you just use a coloured wax, any slight scratches look awful as they show through very white. You will need a good few coats of wax, and to top it up every now and again. It isn't as hard wearing as varnish, but I personally love the finish you get (more matt, less shiny) and if it gets very scratched etc you can always just sand it down & start again.

"Antique Pine" stain always comes out orange (she said, bitterly )

I believe "walnut" makes pine quite a good colour too. But if you just wax it and leave it it will gradually darken and I think that's the nicest look. (Shops that sell new pine furniture do it with - um - have forgotten, some sort of chemical? But it tends to go a sort of yellowy colour, and never turns proper old piney IYKWIM.)

we use COLRON wood dye in victorian pine, not orange at all