Good seal and finish options from local hardware store or big box?

if you want fume free then lacquer is certainly not your buddy.

glair for pore fill (egg whites) and de-waxed shellac. minor alcohol fumes with the shellac but it dries very fast -keep a window open if you're sensitive. glair is sanded in as a slurry for pore filling in multiple sessions before the finish is applied.

or you can skip the glair and just body and cut multiple times with shellac until you're satisfied.

assuming that you even want to pore fill that is -then if not, de-waxed shellac or wipe-on poly will work. your typical Minwax water based wipe on poly smells a bit like fresh Elmer's glue.

btw, is this a natural mahogany or is it stained?

 

That's a pretty tough combination in the world of finishing.

I think the closest you're going to find is Tru-oil. May not be available at a home improvement/hardware store, but you should be able to find it local at a gun shop or a sporting goods store that sells guns. I bought some at Scheels once.

 

WalMart, at least around here, has TruOil in the sporting goods section. Easy to apply and relatively goof proof. Maybe a slight odor but not a bad one and certainly better than lacquer or Krylon fumes.

 

Once the TruOil quits soaking in, the wood is sealed.

 

Another simple finish I can recommend is Minwax Oil-Enhanced Water-Base Finish. You can get a small can at Home Depot and other fine box stores. It's water base, not flammable, no significant fumes. It can be brushed, wiped, or sprayed on. Dries to the touch in an hour, fully cured overnight. And it has a natural light ambering tint, so it will darken the bare spots a bit probably matching pretty close to the finish that's on there.

No sealer needed. Just put it right on the bare wood, as many coats as you need to build up the finish thickness. It will lay down pretty glossy by itself, but you can level sand it and buff it up to a full gloss if you like.

 

tru-oil's cool but it isn't fume free. also not at the the local HD either.

 

"i'm modifying my instrument's headstock. i need to spot finish exposed wood. "

let's review:

-must be fume free. -check.
-must properly seal and finish. -define proper?.
-must leave nice finish. -define nice?.
-must be easy to use. -define easy?.
-must be cheap. -define cheap?.
-must be easy to get. -check.
-exposed pores on end grain. -care/don't care?.
-color match necessary? care/don't care?.

since nothing in modern life is that easy, i think we need more info. maybe a picture of the headstock. the suggestions posted in this thread pretty much seem to fit your loosely defined parameters but they still seem to be lacking something. what might that be?

 

Huh? Home Depot lists it as $7.98 for 8 oz; $18 for a quart; $50 per gallon

 

That's where I just was. You have to click the little drop down menu to select the size, then it will recalculate the price.