Best all natural sealant for indoor furniture (pallet bed frame)

[Zack Hurley]

Hey guys.
I know I'm being unoriginal with this, but I want to make a simple pallet bed frame.
I plan on getting new heat treated pallets, but I still want to put a sealant on them to be safe.

I am new to this kind of stuff.

Is there a good sealant out there for this application that would be 100% natural and OK to use for a bed frame?
Thinking maybe an oil or wax too. I just don't know what would work best.

(Ideally something I could get at Home Depot or Lowes)

Thanks so much!

[Steve Schoene]

All clear finishes in the US would be safe for use on interior furniture after curing. Any potentially toxic ingredients are locked into the cured finish, which is essentially a plastic.

Requiring "all natural" doesn't get any positive attributes to the finish. All natural would be very limiting requirement for finishes, with shellac being about the only choice aside from pure Teak oil (not the many "teak oil Finishes" that are no shelves.) Pure teak oil isn't a good choice being slow drying, not very protective, and subject to quirky defects if not applied just right.

My choice would be a mix of oil and varnish. Boiled linseed oil and about any oil based varnish, including polyurethane, will work fine, mixed in equal proportions along with mineral spirits. There are also plenty of ready mixed products, commonly called Danish Oil. Names include Watco Danish Oil, Minwax Antique Oil, Minwax Teak Oil Finish (not really teak oil). These products are applied by generously brushing or wiping on the material, waiting for it to penetrate for a short time--say 20 minutes or so. Then any material on the surface should be vigorously wiped off with a rag. 2 or 3 applications after overnight drying between each should be enough. The surface may appear dry after a few years. If so, just clean dirt from the surface with water, and reapply another coat of Danish Oil.

Note: be sure not to leave wadded up rags with the oil finish laying around. It can spontaneously combust. A real, common occurrence. MY solution is to spread out the rag or paper towel on a non combustible surface until it has fully dried. At that point it can be pitched.

[Zack Hurley]

All clear finishes in the US would be safe for use on interior furniture after curing. Any potentially toxic ingredients are locked into the cured finish, which is essentially a plastic.

Requiring "all natural" doesn't get any positive attributes to the finish. All natural would be very limiting requirement for finishes, with shellac being about the only choice aside from pure Teak oil (not the many "teak oil Finishes" that are no shelves.) Pure teak oil isn't a good choice being slow drying, not very protective, and subject to quirky defects if not applied just right.

My choice would be a mix of oil and varnish. Boiled linseed oil and about any oil based varnish, including polyurethane, will work fine, mixed in equal proportions along with mineral spirits. There are also plenty of ready mixed products, commonly called Danish Oil. Names include Watco Danish Oil, Minwax Antique Oil, Minwax Teak Oil Finish (not really teak oil). These products are applied by generously brushing or wiping on the material, waiting for it to penetrate for a short time--say 20 minutes or so. Then any material on the surface should be vigorously wiped off with a rag. 2 or 3 applications after overnight drying between each should be enough. The surface may appear dry after a few years. If so, just clean dirt from the surface with water, and reapply another coat of Danish Oil.

Note: be sure not to leave wadded up rags with the oil finish laying around. It can spontaneously combust. A real, common occurrence. MY solution is to spread out the rag or paper towel on a non combustible surface until it has fully dried. At that point it can be pitched.

Thanks for the response!
I honestly don't care a whole lot about the appearance, just how well it protects (from anything in the wood like chemicals coming outside and from anything going into the wood)