Should an oak dining table top have filler applied at some stage of the finishing or is the open grain quite acceptable for dining purpose?
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That's a matter of personal preference. I think that you'd find dining room tables done both ways in the furniture stores. However I would think that filling the pores would make the Oak more cleanable and less prone to staining.
It does not need filling. Don't turn the thing into one of those cheap furniture store abominations that obscures the species for what it is.
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As was said it's a matter of preference. Personally, I think oak should either have an in the wood finish--no surface film or it should be fully filled with the pores filled flush.
The in-the-wood finish is is the look of Watco and other oil varnish mixes. It's not terribly protective, but a lot depends on how you treat it.
The fully filled surface is a film finish that uses the pore filler to fill and level the pore. The filler can also provide a depth of color by tinting it either darker or lighter than the base color.
It's the film finish without filler that I think looks cheap, especially with flat sawn oak or even worse with rotary cut veneer. This is a personal opinion of course, its not a matter of right or wrong.
Whether to fill the grain or not is a personal preference. A major factor in the decision is how "formal" you want the table to be. If it is to be a formal table, then filling the grain is the rule. For many of today's less formal houses, leaving the look and feel of the grain is preferred.
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