Choose Green Report: Wood Finishes and Stains

This Choose Green Report, published in February 2005, picks up where the Architectural Paints report left off with a look at wood finishes — coatings that, unlike paint, do not completely mask the wood’s appearance. Such coatings include varnishes, shellacs, lacquers, natural oils, water-based wood finishes, and wood stains.

As more state and federal governments pass regulations limiting emissions of volatile organic compounds (VOCs), many of these finishes are being reformulated to contain higher solids content, reactive diluents, new types of solvents and/or co-solvents or other non-traditional substitutes. This report offers a rundown of these environmentally preferable options.