I’m a big fan of Fuhr water-based stains and finishes. The Fuhr 105 stain is great to work with on small to medium sized projects, and you don’t necessarily need to look like Darth Vader sporting a respirator. All Fuhr stains and finishes are low or no VOC. The smell from it is very mild. It dries super fast, so application can be tricky on larger projects. We have used Fuhr’s Red Mahogany stain for a very nice, rich, deep, dark color on our wood trim. It’s one liquid product that actually attracts attention from guests. We get comments on how good it looks regularly. I’d like to say it’s my amazing finishing skill, but mostly it’s the stain. I find it great to work with on smaller projects. On larger projects, it’s definitely a learning curve. I’ve found quickly applying a wet layer of it and then wiping in the grain direction to be a good approach. Applying it thick and wet buys you a little extra working time for the wipe-off (although not much). I’ll also sand beforehand with a 150 to 220 grit. So if you’d like to stain without becoming dizzy and feeling like your frying brain cells each time you inhale, give Fuhr Industrial’s green stains and finishes a shot. A gallon of Fuhr 105 runs about $50-$60.
