My mother-in-law had a beautiful vintage dining room table that she didn’t need anymore, but the finish was too dark for me. After sanding it down, I went looking for a way to keep the table looking like the raw, sanded wood. Someone recommended I do a soap finish so I checked it out and became obsessed. So what is soap finish? Soap finish is an all natural product that has been used widely in Denmark for many years. It’s safe, has no funky odors, and gives your wood a matte and natural look without darkening the color of the wood. And it’s super easy to get a great soap finish. You just mix pure soap flakes (I used these) and boiling water (I did 4 cups of water to 1 cup of soap flakes) to make the finish. When the water is boiling, stir in your soap flakes and mix together until the soap flakes dissolve.
So what’s the catch? For one, it’s definitely not the most durable finish. So if the surface you’re looking to finish is one that gets daily use (like a kitchen table), I don’t know if I’d use it…but then again, it’s so easy and safe, that it honestly takes minutes to reapply. What to do if you get stains? Because the mixture is made of soap flakes, pouring boiling water on the stain is quite effective at lifting the stain. Once the wood is dry, apply the soap finish again and it should look good as new. I have read that because the mixture is soap and water, sometimes it raises the grain of the wood after you apply the first coat. I haven’t had that problem, but if you do, hand sand over the grain with a 220 (or higher) sandpaper and then apply your second coat. I’ll update again after a few more months to let you guys know how it is holding up.
