[Ingyross]

Hi, I would like to know how to seal my side table, it being the top of an oak wine barrel, it has been treated with olive oil...
And I have a black wood (ebony) study desk... does this desk need a treatment of some sort of oil?
Thank you Ingrid

[joypulv]

Unless the oil has been drying for quite a long time you can't easily 'seal' it with anything like polyurethane, which needs a clean dry surface. You could put butcher's wax on it, or a glass top. The wax will allow water to bead up on it but not prevent alcohol from getting through.
If the ebony is real ebony, I would leave it as is. If it's some other wood with a stain, then you can seal it with any product you wish - a satin poly, perhaps, or a tung oil (which is usually synthetic these days; look at the can). The difference is that poly sits more on the surface while oils/fake oils sink in.

[Ingyross]

Thank you very much for your reply, Joypulv, will try the butcher's wax.
And yes it is real ebony, we just live in a very dry county and thought it may dry out and crack.

[joypulv]

OK then I would oil the ebony with real oil, even boiled linseed, which takes extra work rubbing in and repeating.
The old saying is once a day for a week, once a week for a year, once a year for life.
But you can probably save it from cracking by using a synthetic or mixed oil such as Minwax makes.

[Ingyross]

Thanks again, much appreciated !