I recently refinished a table using Danish oil, and it looked fantastic at first. However, I decided to apply wax on top, and now I'm having second thoughts about it. I really want to make the switch to a polyurethane finish. Do I need to completely sand down the table again and reapply the Danish oil, or is there a better way to handle this? Just looking for some advice. Thanks!
3 Answers
To change from wax to poly, you’ll need to strip the wax first. A good way to do this is with some mineral spirits and a scrub pad. Once that's done, you can decide whether you want to add more Danish oil or go straight to the poly.
Unfortunately, you can't apply poly over wax—it just won't adhere properly. Instead, you can use shellac on top of waxed wood. I recommend scraping off any excess wax and then using a dewaxed shellac for the best results.
Besides getting rid of the wax, I’d suggest doing a light sanding of the whole surface to ensure the poly sticks well. Make sure to use an oil-based poly since water-based ones tend to sit on top of the Danish oil and peel off after a while.
Thanks for the heads up on the oil-based poly! I didn’t think about that, and it would’ve ended badly for me.