teak finish: rubbing varnish or oil?

[scott vroom]

What are the plusses and minuses of rubbing varnish vs teak oil for interior teak vanity? Any brand recommendations?

[Casey Gooding]

Without knowing what particular brands you are talking about, I'll give my general advise/opinion. Most "oil finishes" sold today are really just very thin varnishes. So there is really little difference in the wiping varnish and the oil finish. The teak oil will take more coats to build a finish.

[Scott Holmes]

Casey,

Actually most "oil" finishes are oil/varnish blends which are different from a wipe-on varnish. Casey is correct we need to know specific brands to answer your question.

Oil/varnish blends are allowed to soak into the wood for a few minutes then wiped dry. The final finish is in-the-wood only. Varnish whether it is applied by brush or thinned to be wipe-on will still build a film finish.

Pure oil only finishes are not protective; no matter what the marketing guys say on the label.

FYI Minwax "Teak oil" is made with linseed oil; there is no way to harvest the oil from a teak tree.