Est. 1998 — 27 years of woodworking knowledge
Tried and True Finish *LINK*
Alan Young
My cousin is making a cradle-He is considering Tried and True as a finish. I have never used this. In looking at their web page it seems it's recommended for children's furniture so should be good for a crib. But they have several formulas:
Varnish Oil
Original Wood Finish
Danish Oil
Seems the Varnish Oil would be best fort the crib-any thoughts on this product?
Re: Tried and True Finish *LINK*
Jim Dillon
Alan, FWIW, I have used T&T varnish oil on everything I've built since the mid '90s. I am very satisfied with it. The only complaint I have heard is that it dries slowly, or never at all. Never had that problem on pine, cherry, oak, jatoba, mahogany, ebony, hickory etc. Apply a thin coat, and rub to dryness between coats. For the past five years or so, I have been combining the varnish oil with 1/3 spar varnish per Christian Beckvoort's recipe. However, that approach would negate the additive-free advantage to the original varnish oil. My gut feeling is that it takes the varnish oil (straight or mixed) 30 days to fully cure. After that I find it to be very durable. As an aside, I once I had to remove the cured varnish from a drawer side and was surprised how difficult it was to sand off. I would think the T&T additive-free varnish oil would be a nice choice for a baby crib. Hope this helps. Jim
T&T Finish Recipe (incorporating spar varnish)
Re: Tried and True Finish
Bill Tindall, E.Tn.
I would use wipe on urethane varnish myself. Can be washed and it is otherwise durable.
Re: Tried and True Finish
Don Stephan
As stated, EXTREMELY slow to cure. After two weeks on a bowl it was still leaving an oily ring on the shelf so I gave the bottle away.
Re: Tried and True Finish
John in NM
Sunlight or heat helps it cure. Sunlight helps a lot (but then I live at 6800 ft, where we get a lot of UV).