Finish for oak kitchen cabinets - oil?

[Haggisman]

We're in the process of refreshing our kitchen, and looking at the cabinet doors & trim next. The doors are solid oak, and the trim is oak veneer, currently in a classic 1990s yellow-orange varnish that would put Donald Trump's fake tan to shame.

We were originally thinking of painting them in a deep blue colour (Rustoleum Evening Blue to be specific), but with concerns around how durable the finish would be, and also aware that any chips/scratches would be very obvious.

I've sanded down a small section of the inside of one of the doors and it's a lovely white oak underneath, which I think would actually go really nicely with the rest of the kitchen (I also checked a section of trim tucked in a corner, and the colour is very similar).

With that in mind, I'm struggling to figure out what would be the best finish, to maintain the natural colour as much as possible, but also giving a decent level of protection (2 kids, 4 cats, we cook pretty much every night, including strongly staining foods e.g. tomato sauces, turmeric etc.).

Ideally I'd like to oil them, it gives a nice finish and very easy to both apply and maintain, but level of protection is a concern - this is the one I'm considering: https://www.wood-finishes-direct.com/product/osmo-polyx-oil-raw-3044

Other options:

• Water-based PU varnish seems to be a good option if I can find a decent clear one with good UV protection. I've seen suggestions to add a small amount of white pigment to enhance/maintain the lighter tone of the wood.
• Lacquer - strong & durable finish, but not the most pleasant to apply (e.g. ideally full face respirator, particularly if spraying).

Has anyone done similar, in particular used oil to finish their cabinets, and if so were you pleased with the result, how has it held up, and would you do the same again or choose a different finish? If so, which option would you pick?

Cheers!

 

[Haggisman]

Danish oil is quite yellowing isn't it?

My desk is oak and finished with Ikea Behandla, which I believe is similar, and while it's nowhere near the "tangerine dream" colour of the kitchen cabinets, it's definitely got an orange/brown to it.

RE. the iron reacting with oak - yes, actually ebonising the wood (e.g. with wire wool dissolved in vinegar) was another option we were considering to give it a nice dark black/grey colour, but as the flooring is grey, I think that might be a bit much and make the room too dark.

 

[Haggisman]

We bought a house with work surfaces very water damaged and dull. They are solid oak. A sanding all over and seven thin applications of Wilko Danish oil and they have come up a warm protective colour. It is difficult to say what the natural colour was after years of neglect and I have not sanded so deep as to remove all marks and staining however it is a 100% improvement over previous varnished units I have encountered. Every six to nine months a light sand and a couple of applications will restore the surface and give further protection.

Good to know - how does it hold up to daily use, food stains etc?

If it does a decent job, I might grab some of that Osmo Polyx I linked in the OP, it looks like that does actually have some white pigment in to keep the lighter tones of the wood

 

[Haggisman]

Day to day, very good, I don't leave standing water on it. If it gets splashed, I wipe it down. We were a bit paranoid to begin with having only had formica type worktops but more relaxed now.

Plenty of applications was the thing to build up a deep finish. It took nearly a week.

Wicked, thanks - doors will be coming off to do them, so no issues leaving them off to stand for a week while I keep re-applying. Shouldn't be any problems with standing water since they are vertical surfaces

 

[Haggisman]

Are you planning to oil over the veneer? Osmo is one of few that say they're OK to use over veneer general doors for internal rooms to a house.


For what it's worth I've painted my cabinets with rustoleum blue and white and they've lasted fine. As youre buying the paint can easily just touch up the paint if there is a scratch. Mines been on about 2 years and no real heartaches with it.

Before


After

Those look nice

Our new floor is roughly the same colour as your old one, so I'm not sure if a dark colour on the cabinets as well is going to be too much.

Good point about the oil on veneer, it soaks into the wood doesn't it, so not sure how effective that would be on ~1mm thickness :/

Edit: this is what we're dealing with (ignore the mess on the door/trim, still mid decoration ):

This is the section I sanded to see the colour underneath:

 

[Haggisman]

Yeah, the lazy part of me was tempted just to buy some new doors, but it does seem a shame to chuck away the perfectly good ones that really just need a bit of a tidy up :/