Stool Finish

Poly would be a good choice. You can use either water base or oil base poly. Water base is easy to clean up. has virtually no odor and will not yellow. Oil base does give off chemical since it is solvent based, needs to be cleaned with mineral spirits and will yellow over time but gives the wood a warm glow. Either produces a finish that is tough and will withstand a lot of abuse which, as a piece of shop furniture, it will get. Poly over pine produces a nice look.

-- With God's help all things are possible- even woodworking. Woodworking is not just a hobby, it is an (expletive deleted) expensive hobby.

I usually go with 90% Poly/10% linseed oil on stools, it has a bit of flex so it doesn’t open up on minor dings & dents. Personally, I’d use a brush-on finish though, I have found that the spray poly tends to orange peel if sprayed in a less than ideal environment.

Good luck & nice work.

Matt

-- The only easy wood project is a fire

Sometimes I rub on a coat of the Golden Oak stain to the pine and then finish it off with a few coats of Poly. It’s doesn’t look that bad…. as a matter of fact, it kinda looks like oak. It seems to me that the smoother a piece is before staining, the better it looks when finished.

-- Make things with wood.