Hi all,

Thanks to lockdown and looking at my unfinished DIY projects 24/7 I have finally got round to starting a table makeover that I have been planning for too long.

I have a small kidney-shaped table that I have been using as a bedside table. I have started by stripping it of the ugly varnish that it came with. Now my plan is to sand it down with gradually finer sandpaper (by hand I don't have any power tools and anyway it's fairly small!) and then finish it... somehow. I've started...

I attach a pic - I have no idea what kind of wood it is and this is only my second project so I am very much an amateur. I have read too much about stains, lacquers, polishes, varnishes and now my brain is on fire.

Basically I would love it to have the smooth feel that you get on mango wood furniture (though I get you can't polish a turd!) - that is, not shiny-reflective, that's what I was trying to get rid of. I quite like the sheen that comes from something like beeswax.

ANYWAY. It will sometimes have cups of tea perching, but I am no stranger to coasters. So my question is, what would be a fairly straightforward option to finish it? Wax looks nice, I would just have to avoid putting drinks directly on it to not get ring marks. i guess it might be good to add some level of protection, but not a priority. I think the colour as is is ok, I def don't want it much darker. I have read about:

Pure beeswax

Briwax

Osmo hard wax oil

Danish oil

Teak oil

I know there are others but those seem to be my shortlist. What would you do? Pic below!

Many thanks

Nila