Finish for Maple

[kenneth walker]

Hello all this is my first post asking for help.
Help I would like to put a finish on that brings the curl out but not yellowing the white at all like BLO does.
Thank you Ken.

[Steve Schlumpf]

Ken - my experience has shown that you need some type of oil to soak into the wood in order to bring out the curl. Just about every oil finish I know of has some amount of linseed oil in it and will yellow the wood somewhat. There are finishes that will yellow less - like Watco Natural Danish Oil - but for the most part, any oil will yellow the wood.

There are finishes that will not color the wood - like water based poly - but they are surface finishes and will not make the grain pop like an oil.

Also, a lot depends on the wood you use. The harder the wood - the less it absorbs, resulting in a lighter color. Soft woods soak the finish in and really can darken the piece.

Sorry - no clear cut answer - at least from me.

[John Keeton]

Ken, I have worked a lot with curly maple, and it really does well with the oils. But, I have also seen some folks use a lacquer finish with a fairly good result and decent chatoyance on the maple, so you might test some brushing lacquer. I have no personal experience with it.

Nice wood, BTW!! It should look very nice finished.

[Rob Cunningham]

Ken, you could try super blonde or plantina dewaxed shellac. I buy mine from shellac.net.

[David E Keller]

Beautiful piece of wood there and a cool shape... very southwest/native american.

I like the look of oil on maple, but I tend to think of the effect as 'warming' rather than 'yellowing'. Please post some finished photos when you settle on a finish.

[Mike Minto]

Ken, I made a sort of 'wipe-on' lacquer by thinning a brushing lacquer and using it on maple - doesn't yellow (hasn't yet, anyways) and dries quickly.

http://sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=127185

[Allen Neighbors]

I love that "water pot", SW form, with the natural edge!! Nice!
I second the lacquer finish, but I use 'water white' pre-catalyzed lacquer, that I spray on, diluted with 20% thinner. (I know that you're not supposed to dilute pre-cat lacquer, but I do.) :)

[Bernie Weishapl]

Really nice vase. I would use lacquer. As was said Anitque Oil, Danish Oil, etc will tend to give it a warm feeling or yellowing as some say.

[Al Wasser]

I hate the look of maple as it turns yellow with age, which is hasten by oil finishes. I have settled on Deft brushing lacquer for almost all of the light woods. I am experimenting with some Tung oil but have not reached a conclusion on those tests yet.

[kenneth walker]

Thanks Everyone for there input on this. A friend of mine told me about a
spray that stays clear it is called krylon uv acrylic, I was also thinking of using the deft lacquer i can spary it on or brush on thanks again for the help. Everyone on here is so helpfull and make some of the most outstanding turnings i have ever seen. Ken:)