The Oak mantels we sell on our website are finished how oak should be finished some of our competitors wax oak, now why the hell would you do this Oak is one of the finest woods around and to wax it should be a crime.
Nothing shows the features better of an oak surround than oil it then simple enhances the natural beauty of the wood and makes them look fantastic.
It’s also very simple for our customers to do as oak does need feeding and will be re-oiling once a year to keep the wood looking its best.
So what do we use very simple and available for you to buy from B&Q we now use B&Q own brand teak oil, we used to buy a fancy expensive finishing oil by Liberon but have found this alternative to be just as good in finish and so much easier to apply as its a lot thinner.
The finishing of an oak surround is a more time consuming than pine as it needs a few coats to build up the surface and patina, when manufactured by us they are sanded to a finish so they can be ready for the first coat of oil.
This is applied with a clean cloth and left to dry normally about 30 minutes as the first coat is quickly soaked into the timber, we wire wool the mantel down between each coat using 0000 grade polishing wool and then all the dust is cleaned off with another cloth and a further coat of oil applied.
Depending on the finish achieved and how porous the wood is sometimes two coats be enough but if not just wire wool again and reapply oil.
After this has been done the mantel is nice and smooth and ready to go.
When reapplying the oil at home just start with the wire wool and then apply one coat of oil this will be enough and just let it soak into the wood and the job is done.
You will now have an oak mantel looking as good as the day it was delivered from Castfireplaces