Finishing oil

A finishing oil is a vegetable oil used for wood finishing.

These finishes are a historical finish for wood, primarily as means of making it weather or moisture resistant. Finishing oils are easily applied, by wiping with a cloth. They are also simply made, by extraction from plant sources with relatively simple processing. Historically, both of these were considerable advantages over varnishes, that depended upon exotic imported plant resins, complex preparation and careful application with expensive brushes.