Best smelling interior wood finish (stain/varnish/oil)

EssexDIYer · Post by **EssexDIYer** » Sat Aug 24, 2024 10:12 pm

Hello,
Thanks for the help in advance.

Im constructing a garden room and onto the interior. It has a feature wall of assorted wood lengths.

It looks very similar to the photo shown; and would like it to have a real lovely "wood" smell.

Is there a recommendation for a stain/oil/varnish to help achieve this? Or is there a finish which smells great in a natural way?

Thanks again

Someone-Else · Post by **Someone-Else** » Sun Aug 25, 2024 12:26 am

As the tv ad says "after a while you go nose blind" so what ever you coat/paint it with this week, by the week after next you will not notice it as you have gone "nose blind" So there really is no point. Sorry it's not the answer you wanted, but it is true.

dewaltdisney · Post by **dewaltdisney** » Sun Aug 25, 2024 8:21 am

The simple answer is no, water based varnishes will have the least odour but when you coat the wall face any residual wood smell can only leech through from the inner face through the cracks. The seasons will affect these cracks as wood is hygroscopic and will absorb airborne moisture when cold and release it when warm. The wood fibres expand and contract meaning the cracks will widen and shrink during the seasons depending on heat in the building. As the pallet wood you have used is probably unseasoned there will be a fair bit of shrinkage over time as it dries out.

DWD

Someone-Else · Post by **Someone-Else** » Sun Aug 25, 2024 11:25 am

dewaltdisney wrote: ↑Sun Aug 25, 2024 8:21 amAs the pallet wood you have used

Polite cough

EssexDIYer wrote: ↑Sat Aug 24, 2024 10:12 pmIt looks very similar to the photo shown;

EssexDIYer · Post by **EssexDIYer** » Sun Aug 25, 2024 5:30 pm

dewaltdisney wrote: ↑Sun Aug 25, 2024 8:21 am The simple answer is no, water based varnishes will have the least odour but when you coat the wall face any residual wood smell can only leech through from the inner face through the cracks. The seasons will affect these cracks as wood is hygroscopic and will absorb airborne moisture when cold and release it when warm. The wood fibres expand and contract meaning the cracks will widen and shrink during the seasons depending on heat in the building. As the pallet wood you have used is probably unseasoned there will be a fair bit of shrinkage over time as it dries out.

DWD

Thanks, it is indeed pallet wood. It was chosen by my daughter as its her hanging about space and she saw the same somewhere in London. She asks, she gets.

Ill be sure to retain some extra wood for when they need refixing to remove any gaps that appear.