Experimenting with a non tox finish learned from Andy Glenn

[David Zor]

1. Wipe with the solution made from soaking steel wool in distilled vinegar for a week.
2. Wipe with high tannin black tea.
3. Second wipe with the steel wool/vinegar solution.
4. A coat of homemade paste wax.

The test panel came out ok. So I’m in progress on applying to a chair. I think I’m going to apply one coat of linseed oil prior to the paste wax to get a little more sheen.

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[Eric Brown]

I just received the book on linseed oil paint from Mortise & Tenon Magazine. It looks promising, but I have only read a little so far. Might try it.

[Kent A Bathurst]

I did some ebonizing using the vinegar/steel wool soup. But didn't follow with tea - rather a solution made with powdered quebracho bark - the source of tannin used for tanning hides [at least at one point in history]

[David Zor]

I think the tea serves that same purpose. Brings some reddish/brown warmth back to the oak.

[Kent A Bathurst]

Am sure you’re correct, except the quebracho was more stone-cold black

[Jimmy Harris]

Be careful with boiled linseed oil. The store bought stuff often has heavy metals in it, which makes it very toxic. Shellac is a good nontoxic finish. Shellac is often sprayed on apples to make them shiny and on many candies. Mix it with Everclear or similar grain alcohol, as denatured alcohol is the same stuff with poison added to make it undrinkable and sellable without a liquor license. And the alcohol will fully evaporate.

The vinegar and iron trick is just making raw sienna pigment (iron oxide, or rust). You can also find raw seinna sold as a powdered pigment to add to whatever medium you want. You can make your own stain, as A stain, is just a thinned out paint. And there are lots of nontoxic pigments you can choose from when making your own. You just have to do a bit of research to find out which ones are toxic and which are not. There's lots of stuff you can use as a medium. Casein is made from milk protein and is the medium in milk paint. But you can thin it out to make a stain. Shellac can be used as a medium. So can Elmer's glue (which isn't supposed to be eaten, but is nontoxic). Or egg whites (tempra). Even gum Arabic is a good soultion (used in chewing gum and is the binder in watercolors). Just thin them out with whatever solvent required and you've got a stain.

[David Zor]

Kent, that was why I went with tea vice bark tanning solution. I was hoping to keep just a bit of warmth to it.


The linseed oil I’m using is non toxic from Allback. The sds comes back pretty clean.

[David Zor]

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There’s a sideways picture of a fresh chair and this finish applied. (I don’t know why I struggle with photos on this website)

[Thomas L Carpenter]

You can buy tannin on Amazon and make your own strength solution. I tried it in quarter sawn sycamore and it worked very well. I made a 1% or so solution in water, slathered it on, let it dry and sanded off the fuzzies and ended with a nice brown colored box. No pictures because the box has moved on.