Expert: Eileen Cronk - 6/28/2010

Question
Hi:  I'm refinishing an old oak kitchen table for my son and his wife.  It had vaneer on it which I have removed and now I have it down to the bare wood which I believe is oak barnwood.  The grain of the wood is absolutely beautiful but there are little holes all over the place.  I've been reading some stuff on line and it seems like the wood may be oak barnwood and the holes are from beatles.  I don't mind having some holes but these are pretty deep and there are a little more than what I would like so I was thinking about continuing to sand it down until some of the smaller holes (less deep) go away.  Also I'm missing the leaf for this table and would like to buy a leaf or a board to make one and just try to match it up as close as possible.  I think this will be hard to do because of the holes-any suggestions on this would be greatly appreciated.  And finally my last question is this, I have the top of this table down to the bare wood and would like to finish it with a clear finish-may I please have your suggestions on what the best way to finish this would be keeping in mind there will be holes that are going to fill up with any finish I use.

Answer
Hi Debbie
Nice to hear from you.
Yes the holes are from beatles.
They make a fairly large hole.
All you can do is fill them with wood filler.
You can fill them now even though you have more sanding to do.
That way they will be very smooth and you can always add more filler if it seperates or has gaps.
You can get colored wood filler that will not be so noticable but the holes will always show.
The leaf should be easy to duplicate but as you say it will not match because of the holes.
And I really would not worry about a perfect match as its likely the leaf will only come out for large dinners. Then they can cover it with a nice cloth.
Debbie old oak looks its best if we apply a stain before the finish. I never apply a finish without staining.
You don't need to go dark and it sounds like you prefer a lighter look anyway.
I would apply a coat of Minwax Golden oak oil stain first.
Its real easy. Just wipe it on with a rag.
When that dries, apply 3 coats of Minwax oil based fast drying poly in a satin sheen.
I have this on my table. It looks lovely and mellow and I know you will like it too.
Use a good quality oil based brush for the poly.
Oh ..and do a super great sanding job as oak really shows fine sanding scratches if its not sanded well. Always work with the grain (you likely know that LOL).
Great project, great question.
Regards
Eileen.
PS..get back if needed