Birchwood Casey's Tru-oil leaves a really nice finish. You need to apply about 5 or 6 very light coats and sand with #0000 steel wool in between coats with 24 hrs drying time between coats.

After you remove the original finish, some dents, as long as the grain at the edges of the wood isn't cut, can be steamed out. Put a damp cloth over the dent and heat it with a hot iron being careful not to burn the wood. Tung oil works well too, but as always put on several thin coats.

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