I'm refurbishing a dining table for my son (see photos under 'Restoration' - 'Oak Dining Table'). It turns out not to be oak after all once I'd planed off the legs but more probably Indonesian mahogany. As the legs need some repair work I've decided to use the nearest match I have to hand which is some pale sapwood American Cherry then stain the legs and patches entirely a darker cherry to even out the colour. All this I can carry out in my shed - so far so good.
Now the table top which is in the same timber as the legs. It's 1700 x 1500 and weighs in at just under 35 kgs. It's too big to accommodate comfortably in my shed so will have to be worked on where it is, our dining room. This means I'll have to strip it using a low odour stripper like Citri Strip then work on the top with a cabinet scraper/ hand sanding (with vacuum cleaner in close attendance) before applying a glue size (1 part PVA to 10 parts de-min water) as a sealer before finishing.
So my question is - what stain/finish options do I have which will be low odour and hand applied (i.e. no spraying)? I've considered gel stain but I think that will limit me to a polyurethane finish (?) with the resultant strong smell.
Any advice gratefully received.
Pete