More on Materials…
Thinking about using the right stains and sealers was a huge deal when I originally made the first prototypes. I wanted surfaces that had a matt varnish look to them or entirely natural, all I knew is that I didn't want to use any harmful solvents to stain. We had a brand new baby in the house, and I knew that eventually he would start touching, gnawing, and sucking on parts of the furniture (its inevitable, they do that kind of thing...).
So I started my research and came to the conclusion that Natural Soy was the best non toxic stain sealed with natural Beeswax! I found all I needed on this website, I quickly ordered the Timber Soy Stain
and tried it out... Not that easy to work with, it takes a few applications but the end result is beautiful! The wood looked natural, all the detail in the wood stayed intact and the smells weren't there after it dried... I don't get paid to talk/use these products, I just want to talk about why I chose them. I read the white sheets and specifications and instantly liked the way the product was made... I encourage you to always read the white papers of anything you purchase.
The Beeswax I used for finishing was from DaddyVans! Which of all crazy things its actually a polish not a sealer. But since the soy is non toxic I've learned the wax does a great job at sealing it and polishing the wood. The wax is very hard to put on, and to get a polish it takes lots of work... The wax dries perfectly, and the finish is very very nice, depending on how much and smooth you sand of course... No smells, and works on mixed wood found in butcher block, red oak, and standard plywood (all the materials I used for the prototypes). 
The more higher end materials I'll be using on these 9 pieces will do very well with my choice of stains and sealer/polish. I'll speak later to the actual preparation of the materials for finishing, but for now the decision to use these materials was partly experimental, driven by the need to leave behind toxic alternatives.
dl.v
Materials Part 2
Post consumer recycled materials should be used for non food packaging, I'll be making that choice: I think pre consumer recycled materials are good for more sterile applications, meaning for the interior of buildings, a kitchen cabinet, flooring, wall partitions, etc. Post consumer, who knows what is in that stuff. I figure even if they are washing it or treating it that would add chemicals to it (or activate some already dormant), and it would waste more resources, so I might as well use it only for boxing, shipping, and protecting... Debating against the millions of dollars put into the marketing of these recycled raw materials is beyond me, I'll consume as logic tells me. For example this image below is from the Association of Postconsumer Plastic Recyclers:
Yes, you can make a plastic bottle into Berber carpets, but Berber is a type of WEAVING: Berber can be made from an assorted group of materials. The industry would love for us to use materials as they like, using marketing like this I'm sure they'll continue to convince a few. But Berber weave is best felt on your feet when made of Wool (PETA doesn't like any use of Wool). What a dilemma: for everything you encourage, there is another group opposing.
With the intentions that what ever I use for wrapping will be made of Post Consumer Recycled Materials, the public will then take to the recycling bin where it will enter the cycle once again... We'll only use it for a little while...
to be continued...
dl.v
