How to finish the raw wood in the house has been an ongoing discussion. Stain, oil, wax, nothing?
We finally settled on a type of 蜜蝋 mitsuro, that is a mix of beeswax and flax oil. Domestically produced. All natural. Easy to apply, not too difficult to maintain, and it will protect sufficiently without changing the color of the wood too much.
Ee did a test yesterday that started at the bedroom window and ended with us completing all the trim in the bedroom, the kitchen, and the dining room.
It was fun and satisfying. Smoothing on the beeswax with a cotton glove is easy and tactile. It makes the wood smooth to the touch, deepens the grain, and leaves a satin finish. It smells nice, too.
Today, I did the living room windows and trim. The living room paper is the mostly likely to get ruined by tape or wax residue so it was my priority. While the wallpaper guys taped and spackled, I waxed.
There is more to do: pantry, doma, the hall and washroom areas, and a going-over on the big door frames, but I may put that off until after the papering. It is too hot and I am too much in the way.
For the butcher block counter top, we wanted food grade mineral oil. It was hard to find, because I hoped to avoid the trap of buying imported products or something specifically formulated for butcher blocks.
Because Japanese companies love to make specialised products, it took a while of searching and lot of label reading but we found the right thing, eventually. “Herbarium Oil” is for making crafts with plants and it is domestically produced 100% food grade mineral oil.
The five liter box included an extra pouring spout. Very handy.
