Expert: Jamie Yocono - 6/8/2008

Question
We are refinishing an old camp, inside with pine, really nice.  What can we use on this wood so that the pine will remain the same colour; will not fade away or darkened.  Thank you very much.

Answer
Yvette,

Over time, just about all woods will darken to a degree. That comes from UV rays, and not much can be done to stop it.  There are two kinds of finishes - surface finishes that sit on top of the wood, like varnish or shellac, and penetrating ones that soak in, like danish oil. The finish you use to rejuvenate your pine will depend on what the existing finish is.

If the pine is in good shape like you mentioned, you probably only need a maintenance cleaning, like a good scrubbing with Murphy's Oil or something similar. I use that product called Orange Glo on my wooden cabinets and it does a nice job.

But if the wood is in bad shape, dirty or has areas of built in grime, etc, you might want to consider using a product called Formby's Conditioning Furniture Refinisher.  It's sort of an all-in-one product, as it dissolves the old finish, and reconditions the wood all at the same time. If you cut and paste this link in your browser, you can see what they have to say about it on their website:   http://www.formbys.com/products/refinisher.cfm

I have seen this stuff work wonders, it's relatively easy to use, too. And probably locally available to you at Lowes or HD.

If the wood appears dry, you might also consider a fine sanding and then an application of Watco Danish oil. It's a penetrating finish, so you'll need to remove any old finish on the wood by stripping or sanding. I recently posted a few videos on my wood blog about how to apply Watco, here's a link to see them: http://wooditis.blogspot.com/2008/05/watco-danish-oil-come-oil-and-laugh.html

I use Watco on everything I make, it's easy and makes the wood gorgeous.

So - it really depends on how bad the wood is, what type of finish is on it, and how much work you want to put into it. After reading this answer, if you have more questions, please feel free to write back with specifics and I'll try to help more.

Good luck, perhaps all you needs is some elbow grease and a good cleaner.

Jamie Yocono
www.wooditis.com
Las Vegas, NV