White pine varnish advice

Anak, I'm not an expert on this at all, but I suspect that no actual 'stain' was used on that table top at all, just clear varnish/oil/lacquer applied to what was a 'richer-grained' softwood in the first place.

That table top could be 'pitch-pine' or similar timber, like wot was used for floorboards years ago - and why old floors come up better with sanding and sealing than new softwood T&G boards do.

The problem with using a coloured varnish like the Ronseal is that it 'coats' the wood with a colour, and effectively 'blocks' the grain rather than enhancing it - the wood tends to look more 'even' afterwards.

I'm not sure what the best solution is, but I suspect it'll involve a clear top coat. As a basic rule, 'oil-based' (polyurethane) varnish (the stuff that needs white spirits for cleaning) will give a darker, yellower, more 'mellow' finish to plain wood, whereas water-based varnishes ('quick-dry' stuff) will leave it less affected.

But hopefully some paint pros will come on to advise.

 

Look at using oil maybe danish oil, with oil - if there are scratches it can be re oiled again.

 

Nice idea. Easy to apply - in that you can't really go wrong!

Will take repeated applications, but gives a lovely natural finish.

Danish Oil is prob best - soaks in nicely and ain't too shiny. Linseed is thicker and shinier and takes longer to dry, I believe. Teak oil is - I dunno. Shiny again?

Worth a practice on a piece of your architrave?

If it still looks too 'white', you could even experiment with adding a few drops of spirit-based wood dye - perhaps a med oak colour? - to the first coat of oil. It should soak in and hopefully enhance the grain rather than obliterate it like coloured varnish does. Then clear coats on top.

But try it without colour first.

Also bear in mind that pine darkens with age/ air exposure and sunlight. It should naturally become more mellow as time goes by...

 

your skirting in about 2 years time without any finish will be a close match to the table as light darkens the wood
if you use a coloured finish it will be darker after a year or so when the finish and nature work together

 

just remember if it matches the present colour in about 2 years it will be far darker perhaps 50-80% darker

 

as big all says, match the colour now and it'll be muchos darker down the line, you could however try tinting it down with stain, then use something like osmo oil which gives a high uv protection meaning it won't darken as quick, a lot of basic varnishes,waxes and oil don't offer much uv protection.