How to protect your wooden tray?

There are different finishes to protect the wood of your worktop, dining table top or coffee table. Discover 4 methods to adopt, depending on your needs.

Oils

There are two types of oils you can use to protect your wooden tray:

• Natural Oil
• Pigment Oil

These two oils have common points but also differences which will allow you to make a choice according to your project.

Natural Oil

The first way to protect and embellish your wooden tray is with natural oil . It penetrates the wood and makes it impermeable to splashes (spilled liquid, wine or coffee for example). If your tray is outdoors, it protects the wood from UV-related browning.

Its application is very simple, you just have to let it dry between 20 and 40 minutes, depending on the time indicated on what you buy. If you wish, you can apply several coats of oil to enhance its effect on the wood. Depending on the number of layers, the overall time will be longer.

This oil contains no pigment but it can be tinted naturally. Thus it is possible that it lightens or darkens the wood of your tray. It has a mattifying effect on the wood.

Natural oil has a fairly short protection time. Depending on the wood chosen, renew the application of the oil quite often.

Here are some examples:

• For a dining table top: one to two coats of natural oil every 12 to 18 months
• For a kitchen worktop: every 3 to 6 months.

Pigmented oil (containing solvent)

Unlike natural oil, pigmented oil contains solvent. The solvent dissolves certain substances. For example, it is the solvent that removes stains.

This oil saturates the wood with a mixture of essential oils that are sometimes tinted with pigments and solvents.

It is sold in two different versions: single coat or double coat. Drying is slower than for the natural oil. As with natural oil, pigmented oil protects the wood from browning but also from spattering.

As for caring for the wood with this type of oil, it also varies depending on the use of your platter:

• Worktop: 1-2 coats every 6-12 months.
• Dining table top: 1-2 coats every 18-24 months.

For the next two methods of wood protection, it is essential to go through the sanding step. It is important because it smoothes the surface and thus the application of the product is fwill go without a hitch.

Varnish

The goal is to put a layer of transparent varnish on the wood to form a real transparent protection around the table or simply on top of the tray. Often the varnish has a glossy finish, similar to nail polish. A single coat is enough to protect your wood well.

It dries fairly quickly, slower than natural oils but faster than pigmented oils. Like the two previous protections, splashes and UV do not scare the varnish.

Some tinted varnishes exist, but their application is more complex than a clear varnish. Indeed, when the varnish is tinted, you have to be regular in these gestures so as not to have any different shades on the set.

The maintenance of the varnish on the wood is done at least every 2 to 5 years, or even 10 years depending on wear wood.

Oil and varnish can be applied by anyone. The application is simple since it resembles painting. However, the application of varnish is quite complex, so you have to be careful.

Vitrification

Vitrification is the act of applying a product called a vitrifier to the wood. This product and the varnish are quite alike. Indeed, the vitrifier is a varnish in which a hardener is added. Thus, it is more resistant to shocks.

This is a solution used when using a lot of wood, for example, when vitrifying a parquet floor. The duration of this material on wood is about ten years.

There are different types of sealer, some are aqueous and odorless, while others are sold as a kit, sometimes the hardener is to incorporate.

Whether with natural or pigmented oils, varnish or sealer, the most important thing is to protect your wood so that it lasts you in time!

You may also choose not to protect your wood with these products to keep it as it is, raw. There are still a few tricks to keep your wood clean, by adding a transparent tablecloth to your dining table, for example!