I keep waiting for someone to come up with the obvious punchline here . . . shellac. It's natural, made from the secretions of the lac insect, so you don't have to worry about the fumes killing you or changing your DNA. It's been used for many years and a lot of woodworkers and re-finishers are returning to using it out of environmental concerns. The main brand at most home stores is called Bulls Eye, made by Zinsser, and it comes in both a clear and an amber. The amber is really nice and tends to bring out a beautiful glow in most woods, particularly maple and oak. Also, it can be cut/diluted/cleaned-up with isopropyl alcohol. Easy. (It does have a shelf life, though- about six months.) You can buy the flakes and mix it up yourself, but why bother . . . not as tough a protector as other finishes, but, you know . . . ask your friends to use a coaster now and then.

Also, I second the use of tung/Danish oils. Formby's makes one and Watco has a whole line that come with different stains/pigments mixed in. You just flood the wood and then wipe it off after a few minutes. Do this a few times and buff with an old t-shirt . . . looks really nice. You can also use steel wool to buff with- kind of dulls the finish and evens it out. Then you just give it a treatment every once in a while when it looks old and dried out.

This is my first post here . . . been meaning to for a while. Hi.

I'm with sleepkid on this one. The water based stains are easy to apply and make clean up a snap. I did every piece of trim in my house with it and they look stunning. I like the Minwax.

I would also recommend a water based "poly" top coat. I was skeptical but now I'm a believer. Crazy durable, dries rapidly, and far easier to work with as its less likely to pool. I like Traffic with the added hardener.

I've never used the water based stains, but I would recommend sealing the finish regardless of whatever you use.

oscar egg wrote:I keep waiting for someone to come up with the obvious punchline here . . . shellac.

Doh!

Try shellac and tung oil. They're both very durable, natural and fairly easy to apply.

I use Watco Danish oil and love it. The best part about Watco and tung oil is that if you ever have a problem with a spot in the finish, you can just sand in a little more and spot treat problems like that instead of having to strip and refinish.

I'm not a fan of water based stains. The finish doens't end up as smooth.

Where are you finishing this stuff? Do you have proper ventilation?

ben wrote:Here's one for the woodworkers on the forum. Does anyone know anything about more natural options for finishing furniture than your typical stain and varnish?

I've just finished my first project, a bookshelf to hold my records. I thouroughly enjoyed building it, but the finishing was not so enjoyable. Particularly the fumes really got to me. I'd like to find other methods of finishing for future projects.

Dye powder mixed w/ warm distilled water. Fumes are minimal.

India ink or other colors of pen ink thinned down with water work as well.

Tip: sand the finish to no finer than say, 220 grit sand paper. Any smoother and the dye or stain will not penetrate as well.


Finish:
100% pure tung oil. Other "Tung Oil Finish" products contain petroleum distillates and lacquer solids to provide a satin or gloss finish. Pure tung oil will provide a matte finish that is completely natural and non-toxic. The fumes smell a little like nutty Chinese food (seriously).

For the first few coats you can thin it down with citrus based solvent. This will help the initial drying time. Then your shop will smell like oranges.

Tung oil needs ALOT of time to cure. Like 24 hours between coats.

Buff with Howard's Feed N Wax orange/beeswax to add some lustre after the tung cures.


Links:
http://www.realmilkpaint.com/oil.html
http://www.realmilkpaint.com/citrus.html
http://www.woodcraft.com/family.aspx?FamilyID=768



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Damn you and your lust-inducing drums, Roeder.

Damn you to hell.

thanks for all the replies. you all have done some nice stuff. i finished the shelves in the garage with the door wide open. let it dry out there for a few days and brought it in the house. the fumes had resided to a faint level, but still made the house a little unpleasant to be in. they've been inside 3 days now and the tackiness is now almost completely gone. I'm not ready to put my records on them yet, but they're getting there.

I'm guessing the colder temperatures made for increased drying time, but the whole thing just left me wondering if there wasn't a better way. I'm going to try out some of your suggestions on my next project.

here's a good one to try from my old days in furniture building / antique restoration:

put some nails into a jar of vinegar. like, a handful of 16 pennies.

let them sit for a week.

brush the resulting stain onto wood - it does some amazing things. turns oak greenish-black, as i recall. i think it turns pine ruddy red.

top with shellac.

burun wrote:Damn you and your lust-inducing drums, Roeder.

Damn you to hell.

My thoughts exactly. Everytime I see the NeuroDrums, I'm wowed.

Ben

Holy shit, that drum is gorgeous.

Sorry, nothing to add to the original topic, although I like the nails/vinegar suggestion.