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I have seen in Norway where pine/fir cabinets and tables were finished with a “lye” finish. They were stain resistant, and wiped clean without a problem. As best I could tell, there was no additional coating (wax, sealer, varnish, …) on the wood. The wood at first glance looked raw, but on second look the color was slightly darker than raw wood.
I checked the archives for “LYE” and found a lot of references to darkening cherry and the like. But no references to this as a final finish. Have any of you actually done, or know a friend of a friend who has actually done this?
I have two big questions about this. First, how strong is the lye solution? And second, is it neutralized after application? Any help would be appreciated.
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Do you think you may have misunderstood that the "finish" is lye? There is a lot of old Scandinavian furniture that is being stripped of its original (and wonderful) paint and then waxed--no other finish. Maybe it was being dipped in lye. My understanding is that lye will continue to "eat" the wood if not totally neutralized.
*The specific furniture I am remembering are the kitchen cabinets in a brand new house. And, reading Norwegian furniture advertisements and actually visiting a furniture store, I saw repeated references to the "lute" [Norwegian for "lye" and not a phrase with a different meaning. Finally, many older Norwegians here in the US know of this finish.But NOBODY can tell me how to do it!!! They all refer to "the guy who did it never told anybody his technique."
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