Finish with least odor for maple

[Zac wingert]

I am building a table for family. The top is curly maple and the rest is eastern maple. My mom is very, very sensitive to odors, she is on an oxygen tank 24/7, so I’m not trying to mess around. I built a poplar table for them a little while ago finished with boiled linseed oil, then de waxed shellac, then oil based polyurethane. I though the top coat being poly urethane would be pretty innocuous, but she had a reaction to it and had to air it out on the porch for a couple months.

For thw the next one, I was thinking just straight water based poly, but I don’t think it’ll really bring out the beauty of the wood. I got some real nice curly maple for the top and if not for the odor issue, I have all sorts of ideas. What do you all think. I suppose I could try BLO, de waxed shellac, and then water based poly, but I am hoping for something simpler, like maybe water poly with just an amber dye added or something? Is this possible wothout sacrificing appearance?

[Wayne Lomman]

Do some testing on scrap. You get the best results with staining by getting the colour down on the timber first and then applying clear over the top. You will have to research what is the best low emission top coat to use. I am personally in favour of 2 pack products in this situation. They cross link and cease off-gassing early. Cheers

[glenn bradley]

I would use dewaxed shellac to bring out the figure and stop there if it is a low use, mostly decorative item. Here's Zinsser Seal Coat used to show the figure on some maple:

390760

You can add a water borne poly or acrylic to seal and protect. I have found Minwax Polycrylic to remain the clearest. It does little to change the color you have achieved which can be desirable. It has some detractors for its moderate performance as a protective or wear resistant finish. Your use of the piece can drive your direction.

[Stan Calow]

Wouldn't the BLO be a source of odor? I don't think that BLO adds anything to maple anyway.

[John TenEyck]

If you stick with shellac and WB products there will be minimal residual odor, but not zero for at least a week. As Glenn said, you can really pop the grain with Sealcoat shellac, or you could add some Transtint dye of your choice directly to your WB clearcoat. I favor using Sealcoat first because it eliminates grain raising, which isn't a big deal on maple anyway but can be on some woods. One of the clearcoats I really like is GF's Enduro Clear Poly because it has almost no odor, dries beautifully clear, and is very hard and chemically durable.

John

[Curt Harms]

You can use Transtint in either shellac or W.B. Poly and both are pretty low odor/fast cure.

[Dave Cav]

These days I generally apply a couple of coats of Zinnser Sealcoat (or their regular clear shellac thinned around 50% if I can't find Sealcoat) to pop the grain and then follow up with four or five coats of either Target or General Finishes WB. The shellac makes a difference in popping the grain even in light woods like alder and maple. After four or five days there shouldn't be any odor at all.

[Curt Harms]

These days I generally apply a couple of coats of Zinnser Sealcoat (or their regular clear shellac thinned around 50% if I can't find Sealcoat) to pop the grain and then follow up with four or five coats of either Target or General Finishes WB. The shellac makes a difference in popping the grain even in light woods like alder and maple. After four or five days there shouldn't be any odor at all.

Is their regular clear shellac dewaxed? My understanding is that shellac with wax in it is not a good idea if the shellac is going to have something else on top of it, that something else may not stick. I bought some non-Sealcoat once and after sitting a while it had a layer of wax on the bottom. I just poured off the clear portion on top of the wax layer.

[Steve Schoene]

The "clear" shellac does include its natural wax. The wax can reduce the bonding of other finishes applied on top. In addition, the clear shellac is somewhat less durable and water resistant than the other shellacs. It is chemically bleached to achieve its light color.

[John TenEyck]

I often use Zinnnser Amber shellac as the base of a toner, and then apply WB clearcoats on top of it. I've never had a bonding problem including using EnduroVar, either with a peel test or in actual use. Some of those projects are over 5 years old. But being slightly more cautious these days, I usually now spray a coat of Sealcoat over the toner before applying the WB clearcoat.

John

[Don Parker]

If your mother is that sensitive to odors, how about going with just shellac, mixed yourself, using dewaxed shellac flakes and Everclear instead of denatured alcohol? that is as nontoxic as you are going to get, short of leaving it as bare wood. Apply via French polish method. Maple doesn't need pore filling.

[Dave Cav]

The "clear" shellac does include its natural wax. The wax can reduce the bonding of other finishes applied on top. In addition, the clear shellac is somewhat less durable and water resistant than the other shellacs. It is chemically bleached to achieve its light color.

Yes, there's a bit of wax at the bottom of the can but I just stir it up. I haven't had any bonding problems with any of the Zinnser shellacs I've shot WB over, including the amber, but I do prefer to use Sealcoat, when I can find it.

Regarding alcohol, I've been using alcohol fireplace/stove fuel from Amazon. It's pure ethanol with a bittering agent to keep people from drinking it. It comes in pint bottles that I buy a dozen or so at a time and the price is pretty good. Leaving it in the sealed pint bottles until needed keeps moisture out of it.