How to care for your campervan furniture
Our kits are supplied unfinished as standard. This means they need sanding and finishing before installation to achieve not only the best aesthetic, but to protect the wood from moisture and ensure it lasts for many years.
Protect and Seal your Furniture
Our favourite way of finishing furniture is to use Osmo Polyx Oil. It is a hard wax oil, made using flax and linseeds and gives excellent resistance to moisture, coffee and wine spills. It is also a microporous, breathable finish which prevents it from cracking and blistering if temperatures inside you van get hot!
Our recommended finishing process:
1. Sand all faces and end grain using a random orbital sander and P120 sandpaper
2. Remove any residual dust using a brush, compressed air or a tack rag.
3. Use a router with a small chamfer bit or a sanding block to soften the sharp edges of the panels, this makes the more durable and a bit nicer to handle.
4. Brush on your first coat of Osmo, applying thinly but making sure you cover all faces and edges. Look at the panels from different angles to spot any dry patches. Be a bit more generous when applying to the end grain, the fibres will absorb more oil here than the faces.
5. Wipe off any excess oil with a cotton rag, this will give a smooth, uniform finish.
6. Wait for the first coat to dry. This normally takes about 24 hours but depends on temperature and humidity.
7. The fibres of the wood will have raised while absorbing the oil, making the surface feel rough again. Sand the faces and edges lightly with a finer
sandpaper, P240 works well. You can do this with the orbital sander or by hand.
8. Remove any residual dust as before and apply the second and final coat, taking care to coat all panels before wiping off any excess.
You may need to re-treat your furniture after the first year if it starts to look a bit dried out. You can do this in place, just brush on the oil and wipe off the excess. No need to sand it before hand!
To clean your furniture, avoid harsh chemicals and use Osmo Spray Cleaner which is a mild detergent that cleans and conditions the surface of the wood.
Add a Splash of Colour!
We also like to add a splash of colour to the cupboard doors and drawer fronts of our kitchen units. We recommend using Coat Paints Eggshell Interior Wood/Metal Paint.
They are a Climate Positive, B-Corp, Low VOC paint manufacturer based in the UK with a lovely range of colours, they will even colour match to the Farrow & Ball palette.
We would recommend the following process for finishing your doors/drawers:
1. Sand the faces and edges of all your doors and drawers to P120. You can soften the sharp edges using a chamfer bit on a router or just by sanding them by hand at a 45º angle.
2. If you have any imperfections in these panels, you can use some wood filler to smooth them out. Wait for it to dry completely before sanding flat.
3. Prime the board using a white wood primer. We brush it on using a 50mm fine tipped brush, but a small foam roller works well as well.
4. Sand away any blobs or dribbles of dried primer and wipe off any dust residue.
5. Mix the paint well and apply the first coat. Try to give it a uniform coating It may look quite patchy at this point, but subsequent coats will deal with that.
6. Wait at least 4 hours before applying the next coat, applying as smoothly as you can with the same 50mm fine tip brush.
7. We recommend either 2-3 coats to give good protection and a rich vibrant finish.
8. Keep the rest of your pot so you can touch up any scuffs!
