Had to pick between Danish oil and polyurethane for a walnut desk

Been working on this mid-century walnut desk for a client in Portland. I was dead set on Danish oil for that matte feel but they wanted durability. Went with a satin polyurethane in the end and honestly it turned out way better than I thought. Has anyone else had a finish choice go completely different than you expected?

3 comments

3 Comments

young.kim15d ago

Wait, you actually switched to polyurethane and it looked better than the Danish oil?

faith_thomas15d ago

@young.kim it's wild, right? I was skeptical too but it gave this deep, almost wet look that really brought out the grain.

the_max14d ago

Actually read an article from a woodworking magazine that did a side by side comparison of different finishes on the same type of wood... they said polyurethane soaks in different than oil based stuff because it sits more on top but still lets the grain show through with that wet look. The author mentioned it takes a few more coats to get even but once it's on there it's way more durable than Danish oil ever could be. Remember them saying oil finishes need constant reapplication while poly just sits there looking good for years... Makes sense why folks are switching over if they don't want to keep maintaining it all the time.