polyurathane in paint/stain ?

[counterGOPI]

i know i spelled ghat wrong but is it in most if not all paintsand stains unless they say 0 VOC? my MIL wants to buy dd a table and chairs set from pottery barn BUT dh and iwant an unfinished set that we can use safe stain on.im trying to use the argument that there is the polyurathane in the stain... is that right?

[Mallori]

Poly is the shiny clear coating that goes on after stain. You need that to seal the wood. I'm not familiar with all the products out there, so I don't have all the answers that you are looking for. Some poly's do come with stain in them.

What kind of stain would you prefer using, and what things are you trying to avoid about the poly?

If you are just looking for an excuse to get the unfinished, be honest. Just tell MIL that you would prefer that because you have a product that you'd really like to use on it.