Need help, finishing Maple w/o yellowing it

[H.R. Shadow]

I 'm ready to finish a jewelry box with Maple sides & I'd like to finish as clear/white as possible. The top & bottom frame are cherry & I was planning on BLO rub,suntan & blonde shellac for that, but the shellac left a maple sample a lot more amber/yellow than I'm looking for.
Then I thought about using Tried & True for the whole thing, but I'm afraid that will be too yellow as well.
Any suggestions short of clear laquer? I'm have to stay away from that as I don't have the right ventilation in the shop & in the GNW it's raining now, so spraying outside ain't an option, (& the suntan might take weeks).
Any help would be greatly appreciated. :confused:

[Jamie Buxton]

Almost all waterborne finishes are colorless, and stay clear with age. Almost all solvent-based finishes are amber, and get more amber with age. That is, to preserve the color of maple, use waterborne.

All the waterborne finishes I've tried raise the grain. I always need to sand after the first coat. That can be tricky if your maple is inset, as in a raised-panel door. My fingers aren't pointy enough to get all the way into corners.

To my eye, waterborne finishes look flat on cherry. You might could use the waterborne for only the maple, and use a solvent-based finish for the cherry. Or you can apply a solvent-based first coat to the cherry, and then put the waterborne over that. However, if you do this, you have to be careful to not let the solvent-based finish get on the maple, because it will give you the amber color you're trying to avoid.

[H.R. Shadow]

The maple piece is totally separate from the cherry so your suggestion about a waterborne finish may be what I'm looking for.
Do you have a 'brand' preference that I might look for?

[Scott Parks]

The maple piece is totally separate from the cherry so your suggestion about a waterborne finish may be what I'm looking for.
Do you have a 'brand' preference that I might look for?
I like Target Coatings. (Strictly opinion). They sell through their website. Use their Emtech 8800 Sealer if you need to build up a depth coat and it will not look flat. I have not used their polyeurethane without it. Then you can top it with one of their waterbased poly's. They are crystal clear. Wet your maple with a damp cloth first, then sand again before using waterbase...

[Jim Becker]

I'm with Scott...I really like Target Coatings finishes. (http://www.targetcoatings.com) While most of their finishes are spray oriented, if you need to brush, they do have a new formulation that is intended for brush use. I largely use the USL (formerly PSL) and am starting to play with some of their other products, including the water based shellac just for grins.

BTW, a "super blond" shellac may work for you given that the oil is already going to color the maple somewhat. As always...do tests on scrap of the same wood in the project.

[Lee Schierer]

Deft doesn't tend to yellow maple anywhere near to what most other finishes will. It does have a high fume level though so if you can't find a garage that you can leave the door open, it won't help you much. Here's what it looks like on maple.http://home.earthlink.net/~us71na/kristin3.jpg Bear in mind the photo is yellower than the actual piece. The piece is colored more the way the wood appears in the top of the photo,

[Donnie Raines]

Pratt and Lambert #38 is one of the most clear varnishes you can get. It can be thinned out to be used as a wipeing varnish. I suggest this simply becuase I think water base products do very little to draw out the color and grain of the wood.

My take of coarse.... :rolleyes:

[Scott Parks]

Just to chime in again on what Jim said.... I've been brushing Target, and it leaves slight bubbles and brush strokes. Spraying would be better, but I don't have the equipment. To get the bubbles out, I just put on several coats, and wet sand at 600 grit, then polish.... Looks like glass! In fact I'm ordering more today... Just ran out of their sealer last night....

Also, Maple will yellow slightly over time..

[H.R. Shadow]

Thanks for all the suggestions.
Jim I went to Target's site & looks like I've got some more studying to do before I can decide on their products. I may just try the super blond shellac, if I can find it, 'cause I don't intend to oil the maple. At this point I'm leaning towrds 'go with what ya know' and learn new tricks later. My biggest concern with anything but shellac is getting the shop up to temperature, now that fall has set in :cool: