blank matt lacquer. done!

I don't know about blank matt lacquer.... will have to read up!

But I do know that once you sand it it and finish it once with several coats of polyurathane, you shouldn't have to do it again. Where did you get the idea you'd have to do it multiple times? A wax finish is beautiful and what you'll find on better casegoods, but I'm not sure that it stands up very well to kids.

I like the sheen and slick finish of gloss poly, but I'd test on some scrap wood and see if you like satin, gloss, or high gloss better.

poly, poly, poly! wipe-on poly, and i'd suggest a satin finish. It won't reflect every tiny imperfection like a full-gloss will but it'll still be nice and durable and wipeable.

I say do nothing to it and celebrate the beauty of how your family lives with it. Every scratch, ding, dent and stain has a story.

am i the only one who finds the question funny?

reclaimed wood is supposed to look antiqued/ have a patina- no?

just use it. it will add to the charm.

I'm with pepsin -- it's RECYCLED. Just use it and appreciate the "patina" it develops!

I'm interested in the suggestion implicit in your question that some furniture finishes lead to toxic strawberries. Polyurethane isn't a beverage -- but once it dries, it has no effect on food. So go ahead and use it if you want to seal the wood.

White paint, the best. Covers everything and looks so fresh.

I'm a total freak about damaging things. If it were my wood table, I would put a thick tempered glass on top of it. There are special rubber gadgets that would prevent the glass from slipping (sorry, I don't know the name). The wood would last forever, it's really easy to clean and the occasional mess would be welcome this way.

I took the strawberry mention to mean Henley didn't want to worry that every berry was going to stain the wood -- NOT poison the berry.

I think satin poly is a good idea.

What pepsin said.

With 3 kids under 4 I get what you're saying but I also think that your recycled imperfect looking table will take a beating too unlike something polished and pristine. My only concern would be coloured stains from food, I would consider glass for a few years until the children are older enough to eat without creating so much mess. What about placemats for meal times or a tablecloth (I know that can create extra washing). I love your table but our second hand Ikea table is ideal right now because I can use spray cleaners and I'm happy to let the kids eat and do drawing on it without stressing about damage.

If you want to keep it looking natural but amp up the wipe-ability and stain resistance you could apply several coats of Teak Oil. It will permeate the wood to make it more stain and moisture resistant and you can wipe it with a damp cloth for clean-up but it will leave the wood looking and feeling natural. For maintenance, just spot sand (if needed) and reapply more oil to keep the table looking good. I do mine once every couple of years.

Of course if the surface is very rough or pitted you'll still have places for gunk to collect. The only remedy for that is to douse the table in epoxy or top it with glass.

I'm with rdvnyc, The greatest part about this table is how use will just make it better. I got strawberry stains on my butcherblock cutting board and removed them with a lemon half.

This short article might help:

http://www.finewoodworking.com/SkillsAndTechniques/SkillsAndTechniquesArticle.aspx?id=26893

Oh - that is a beautiful table. I wouldn't do poly on that wood, wax would protect the top, but you would need to clean off water quickly as it will not protect against that. I just finished some reclaimed book shelves with briwax. I sanded them, then put a coat of wax, let it sit 10 minutes, used a shoe brush on it, then a clean lintfree cloth to polish. I know the shelves don't get as much wear as a table, but I'm not a fan of poly on wood. Your table will develop a beautiful patina as it is, or with wax.

Having a similar issue! We just finished our tree stump side table project, which you can check out here:

http://thenestinggame.com/2011/08/15/a-tree-grows-in-the-family-room/

I was going to use the satin Wipe On Poly, but I got advice from a friend who refinishes furniture to use Minwax Furniture Wax in Natural. She does awesome work , and I trust her.

As for your table, I think that it will only grow more beautiful with use and age!

Henley! Great Table! Most of the tips you have received are great options. If you really want to do it once and forget about it, go with the poly. Oil-based products are superior, but take longer to dry, and require thinners or mineral spirits to clean up. A good water-based poly should do the trick for indoor use. A couple of brushed on coats, allowing it to soak into the grain will seal it for several years, and you can reseal it any time.

Another option is oil. Teak oil, Tung oil or even Danish Oils are great sealers. Brush it on and let it soak. Wipe off the excess and let it dry. Buff to a hard finish. Retreat every couple of years or as needed. This is a little more work than the poly route, but it will give you a rich, natural finish.

Here is a sample of a 1950s Oak drafting table that we refinished with teak oil: http://www.rehabvintage.net/details3.php?prodId=298&category=

Good Luck with your project.

May I suggest tung oil? It will protect the wood and can be easily repaired and restored periodically with a light sanding (just samll area or whole surface) and wiping on another coat. When I was a den mother, I had to make minor repairs every month. Now I just restore the finish every year or so. Easy and durable!

Dude. You have kids. Stuff's gonna get used, wrecked, ruined, pockmarked and dented, with LOVE. Get real or train the bambinos not to ever, ever, EVER spill, mark or scratch anything.

I would be concerned about splinters not the old two by fours.

I agree with pepsin & co but that being said, an oiling or a layer of wax might be worth it. I have a kid and our old wood table started to splinter and decay where her place was because it was getting wet so often! There was only a shellac finish which can't take water one bit. I sanded and waxed the table and now it's great and totally water resistant.

Oil or wax will give a natural finish and won't change the lovely reclaimed distressed look.

Once again, I don't understand the snark and sarcasm. I have a similar problem- we have an unfinished teak table and 2 little kids. It's supposed to age naturally and develop a lovely patina, etc. But, guess what, it just looks bad when things get spilled on it. Oil, beets, tomato sauce, pen, and red wine have left ugly spots (the wine was spilled by me- not the kids). I tried teak oil and place mats but it just doesn't afford much protection. I thought about polyurethene, but that would change the looks and make it shiny, wouldn't it? Sadly, we ended up covering the table with a vinyl tablecloth for every day. It doesn't look great, but we don't have to worry when things get spilled and the kids can color and do their play dough, etc. We figure this is how it's going to be until the kids get older. If we had room for a "crappy particle board IKEA table" in addition to our dining room table, we would get one. But, we don't, and this is our compromise to preserve our beautiful table. It's pretty obnoxious to suggest the original poster doesn't appreciate her table because she wants to preserve it in its original state.

I'm afraid I don't get the appeal of a raw wood table that some of the commenters are espousing here. I have several pieces of furniture made from recycled wood and, even though I thought they looked beautiful in their raw state, I was not going to bring them home that way. There are plenty of non-toxic, wood-based finishes around - and they bring out the beauty of the grain, knots and flaws even more. My furniture was coated in a satin poly (several coats) and looks great. The dining table has withstood not only spilt food and drink but bags, packing boxes, sewing machine, etc.

That was meant to say "non-toxic water-based finishes".

Henley asked: "What is the best way to keep the look but make it easier to wipe clean?"

How about acrylic-resin or water-based timber sealants with a water-resistant & transparent matte finish ? To minimize fading from exposure to sunlight, look out for exterior-proof sealants or those with anti-UV protection.

Egs. Sikkens Cetol UV Interior, CROMSHIELD Timber Restorer & Sealer

Avoid oil-based sealants, as these tend to darken or yellow the underlying wood over time.

matte-finish Waterlox

I agree that its a beautiful table that if protected would stay looking that way a lot longer. I have had great results with Vermont Naturals polywhey in satin. It is very eco friendly and it is subtle instead of shiny which will keep the table looking recycled instead of mass produced.

As someone who works with reclaimed wood every day, owns a reclaimed wood table and has kids, here is my suggestion: If you want to protect it from the kiddos, make it easier to wipe up after dinner and keep as much of the original recycled wood aesthetics, I would go with a water based polyurethane (satin) or the Vermont Natural finish.

Either of these options WILL darken the table up a bit, so I would run a couple of test brushes underneath the table to see if you like it. Also, I would run three coats on the top to protect it for the long haul. Before the first coat, take some 220 grit sandpaper and lightly run it over the table. Then wait a few hours and repeat the light sandpaper and then run another coat and repeat one last time. I would use a vacuum after each sanding so the top is really clean before applying the finish.

The water based satin poly can be purchased at any hardware store. The Vermont finish can be found at Rockler.

Hope that helps! It's a beautiful table!

Ooh, I wouldn't suggest tung oil... it's beautiful, but quite toxic and it doesn't dry too quickly. Water based satin polyurethane would bring out the beauty in the wood even more. Good luck!

*** I made a table exactly like this out of reclaimed barn wood. The wood was weathered gray with an amazing red patina from the chip red paint of the barn...absolutely beautiful and I loved its rustic-ness. I made the mistake of coating the table (for your same reasons) in a semi-gloss lacquer. It is now shiny, and dark. Totally lost the rustic look, which is what I loved about it. Still looks good but not what I wanted.

TEST IT OUT on the bottom first!

Henley did you buy this table or make it? thank you.

I use Swilley's all natural beeswax - I got it from urban wood goods when I bought a table there made of reclaimed Douglas fir. Love the stuff. Very similar to Howard's but no distillates.

Actually, tung oil is 100% food-safe, and often used on salad bowls and other wooden kitchen implements. It can be a bear to apply if you want decent protection for the wood, though. That requires numerous coats and extended curing time. And tung oil doesn't leave much of a sheen. It can darken the wood a bit, though. Polyurethane, on the other hand, is more akin to plastic once it cures. It forms a total barrier between over the wood. I'm not a fan of urethane on wood because it looks so fake, even the low-sheen varieties. Honestly, I would have opted for melting beeswax and mixing it into some warm mineral oil, which is how butcher block is treated and maintained.

This is a great article at Fine Woodworking about food-safe wood finishes.

http://www.finewoodworking.com/how-to/article/food-safe-finishes.aspx