Mine are on wood and doing just fine so not sure what the trouble is with your wood?

The acid in unsealed wooden shelves or drawers, or products made from wood like paper and cardboard, can leach into fabric and stain it orange.

Despite what many people believe, even storing linens, fabric etc. in a cedar chest is not good for fabric. All unsealed wood emits acids. These acids will stain fabrics. If you are going to store fabrics on unsealed wood you need to put a acid free barrier betweent the fabric and the wood.

See this link

http://www.ravefabricare.com/true-qu...ged-sword.aspx

My shelves are new, bare wood so I need to do something to seal them. I think I am going to urethane them as ghostrider and my dh suggested. Wish I could have used some sort of melamine covered particle board but I am out of money after building the studio so need to cut back a bit. We got a good deal on plywood but now I have to seal it for sure.

lakekids, I had read about the cedar chest dilemma a while back but I have been keeping my sweaters in a cedar chest for many, many, many years. In fact my Dad made one for me and one for my Mom way back in the early 70's out of cedar logs he pulled out of the swamp. I have never had a moth or staining problem but maybe I am just lucky. I guess the only problem is that in the winter, I sometimes walk around smelling like a cedar tree. That's better than some smells, right? ha

Again, thanks to all of you for chiming in with suggestions. As usual, the QB can be counted on to answer questions from inquiring minds.

I agree with some of the others. As long as you use a good paint (I prefer semi-gloss) or seal the wood with polyurethane you should be fine. If you paint more than one coat, make sure to let it dry really well between coats. Then let it dry for a few days to ensure that your fabric doesn't stick. I usually run a fan to help ventilate and to help with the drying. That's the way I do it.
Be sure to share some pics. when you are done if you can.

Mine are going on 2years now with a stain and polyurethane. Nothing sticks, they are beautiful!

I've had no problem with my polyurethane coating on the stained wood shelves, and it keeps the wood looking wonderful.