Caring for solid oak: the twenty-minute fix

The reason we finish our oak with hard-wax oil rather than lacquer is simple: you can fix it. A lacquered surface is perfect until it is not, and then it is a professional job. An oiled one is yours to maintain.

What you need

A sheet of 240-grit sandpaper, a lint-free cloth, and the small tin of oil that came with your table. If you have lost it, any hard-wax oil for interior wood will do.

Water rings and small scratches

Sand lightly along the grain until the mark disappears. Wipe off the dust. Apply a thin coat of oil with the cloth, let it sit for ten minutes, then wipe off everything that has not soaked in. Leave it overnight. In the morning the patch will have vanished into the rest of the top.

Once a year, the whole table

Every year or so, give the entire surface a light sand and a fresh coat. It takes twenty minutes and resets the table to day one. Over a decade the colour will deepen slightly, which is the point.

Nothing we make is meant to be precious. Use the table. Fix it when it needs fixing.