To seal wood properly first prepare the surface by sanding it smooth and, if you like, staining it a color. Then you can apply a sealant, but there are many to choose from. The three most common sealants are polyurethane, shellac, and lacquer, and each requires a different method of application.
Paint Or Seal Unfinished Furniture
Bare wood, when left unfinished, keeps your furniture with a natural wood look but the risk is exposing it to harsh elements, even if it's indoors, such as light, dust, moisture and water damage, making it more susceptible to stains, warping and cracking.
There are three types of clear topcoats used to seal natural wood or bleached furniture – polyurethane, polycrylic, and wax finishes.
Shellac. In my opinion, shellac is the best natural wood finish for one main reason: it's the most protective natural finish on the market. Unlike other options, shellac forms a barrier on top of the wood, stopping water, dirt, and other things (*cough*crayon*cough) from reaching the pores of the wood.
Pure Tung Oil is the top choice for an all-natural wood sealer. While we don't recommend you use it on large outdoor surfaces like decks or fencing, it's an excellent option for indoor furniture, butcher block, cutting boards, ax handles, and other wooden pieces. Use Tung Oil on unfinished wood.
Sealers Vs Primers
The best rule to adhere to is to apply at least two coats of sealer directly onto the raw wood. This will protect the wood and create a barrier. Then apply primer to enhance adhesion, return tooth to the surface, and whiten the surface for optimising paint colours you plan to apply over it.
Yes! A polyurethane wood finish looks beautiful and is one of the most durable top coats for wood finishes. It works great on stained wood, raw wood, weathered wood finishes, and painted wood finishes too.
Tung oil is often recommended as a sealing oil for furniture because it protects the wood from moisture and stains.
Thompson's Water Seal
This is why in most woodworking blogs, their water seal always tops the list of recommended wood sealers. Aside from resisting most types of mold and mildew, it's also long-lasting. So you won't have to worry about reapplying a sealer every couple of years.
A kitchen staple, white vinegar is a natural way to clean a number of items. It is also safe enough to use on unfinished wood, though never apply it straight. It can be used to remove general grime, but also fingerprints and is a natural way to kill bacteria if you do not want to use dish soap.
Wood is dried-out and dull if you do not apply some sort of sealer. Staining and finishing are two very different things. By applying pigments, a stain is meant to darken or dye wood, but the wood is not preserved by staining.
Wood can be left unfinished if it won't encounter weather, water or significant handling. If your project is placed outside, will be somewhere wet, or will be used on a regular basis, then you should apply wood finish.
The product I'd recommend for light duty sealing of raw wood pieces is Miss Mustard Seed's Hemp Oil. One of the things I really like about it is that it does a good job of preserving the beautiful patina on my more vintage (or vintage look) pieces.
Before painting a surface, you should apply sealers . They provide fantastic adhesion and can be a substitute for paint primers. What makes sealers different is that they make porous surfaces non-porous. It also can be used before primers to create another protective barrier.
Apply Sealant as Needed
Applying a topcoat sealer is not required, but a finish protects the stained wood from scratches and keeps it from fading over time. If applying a polyurethane wood finish with a brush, apply one to two coats.
Oil and Vinegar
And, believe it or not, a bit of canola oil (3 parts) and vinegar (1 part) makes a dandy wood sealant, protecting wood from borrowing insects, wear, and water. Plus, this can be reapplied to revitalize the wood, something that doesn't work without sanding off the varnish.
What you want to go for is a finish that is known as “water-white”. This means that when it dries on the surface of the wood, it won't bring any color to the party. Just about any water-based finish fits into this category. There are also water-white lacquers that work very well.
“Wood sealer” and “preservative” are different terms for the same type of product and are used interchangeably in the trade. The clear wood preservative produced by Olympic, for example, is recommended by its maker for protecting exterior wood from moisture damage, mildew, rot and decay.
Wax, oil and varnish are three materials that will protect your furniture and that you can easily apply at home yourself. The three options will maintain the most "natural" aspect of the furniture, preserving the grain of the wood without adding big touches of colour, as paints, lacquers, etc. would do.
Varnishes and oils, like tung oil, linseed oil, and danish oil, give the wood a natural appearance and may have a slight yellow or golden tinge. Shellac and lacquers are not as easy to apply as many other wood finishes, but they do give the wood a deep, rich appearance.