Expert: Eileen Cronk - 9/2/2007

Question
I inherited a beautiful dining room table, 6 chairs, and buffet from my grandmother years ago.  I have been afraid to do anything to it because it has great sentimental value to me, but I have recently sent it away to a trusted individual to be stripped and refinished.  The original finish was very dark -almost black in the nooks and crannies.  
It is stripped now, and the wood is beautiful - mostly tiger oak - but the rails on the chairs look to be a lighter wood, and he has concerns about them matching.  He has shown me pieces of a similar age and wood from the same period - late 1800's - which he has put just poly on, which is what I thought I wanted.  But they have a very orangy, "country" look, and this is definitely not what I want.  So we are researching different possibilities.
I do not want a glossy look, but it does need to be protected, as it will recieve light use.  The other antique pieces I have are either a light oak (but NOT orange or yellowy - more dark blond? maybe just oiled or waxed?) or a satin cherry sort of finish.  It is a formal set, but I hoped to "de-formalize" it a little with the refinishing, as I prefer a cozier, more natural look.
Sorry this is such a long description!!
Any suggestions ou have would be greatly appreciated!!!

Answer
Hi Lisa
Nice to hear from you.
The chair rails...I assume you mean the chair wrungs LOL, I'm not sure of the spelling. But they could be replacements.
First off, your entire tiger oak set will look orange if you apply nothing but poly to it.
And never put a finish on wood without a stain first. Even a natural stain if you do not want color.
My suggestion...because you asked, is to mix 3 parts golden oak stain to one part Special walnut stain. Both are minwax colors.
In fact I would go half and half as a sample too.
I cannot see this wood so I am just speculating here.
I would use poly only on the table top if it will get use.
I even shudder to suggest poly on old furniture, but a table top needs it.
I would use Minwax fast drying satin sheen poly.
Its a lovely finish and has not got that plastic look that a lot of polys have. It mellows beautifully.
I have it on my kitchen table.
I have 3 children and 4 grand children...the table is never covered.
For the rest of the set I would apply 3 coats of Circa 1850 low luster tung oil. Its easy to apply. Rub on with a rag.
Very durable finish and the beauty of it is you can refresh with a coat every couple of years with no prep but a good cleaning.
Hope this helps
Regards
Eileen