Hi Jon, I make boxes and I never use an oil finish or wax on the inside of boxes because of the odor. For the inside I general put 2-coats of wax-free shellac prior to assembly. On the outside I'm all over the place with the finish. Most oil finishes have some odor but less chance of runs. Shellac does a pretty good job, but I still have to watch for runs. Sometimes I put two coats of shellac on the outside the sand with 500 grit paper. Then apply a wax. Sometimes I put an oil finish like Waterlux Original which since it is rubbed in don't get runs. It does have an odor for several days. Minwax Wipeon Poly or General Finish Arm-R-Seal does a pretty good job, but have to watch for runs. Hope this helps. Malcolm / Kentucky USA

 

@kywoodchopper

Greetings Malcolm:

I appreciate the feedback and will put the comments in play.

 

Hi there
I haven't responded here much primarily because of lack of time. I used watco 40+ years ago. I quit when I found Velvit oil about 30 years ago. Much better product from a small business. One of the big pluses is it doesn't water spot like watco. Their primary market is supplying sealer for log homes. I know they will ship small quantities. Let me know if you can't find them.
Tim

 

I've used Behr Scandanavian Oil for a number of things. Maybe 3 days for it but its been a while so I'm not sure. I put it on some thin cedar tongue and groove above my tub surround and it's still good after 20 years.

 

Been using Watco for 40 years. You are correct. The smell lingers.
You can mix the Watco with a varnish to make a wipe on finish. That seems to cut the smell time a bit.
I use Minwax or McClosky's Man-o-war.





















s

 

I've printed these off and will try them on the next projects.

Thanks.