Best way to surface prep/finish curly maple

[Dan Mitchell]

Stumbled across a nice little piece of curly maple in the "bin" at Rockler which I am using for a box lid. In terms of sanding, what is the best approach to make the grain appear its best? Have gotten to 220 on the ROS & 320 by hand so far, still a bit "dull", what would be best next? My 1st time with this species.

Note that I don't have an expensive, hyper-sharp plane, so that's not an option :rolleyes:

Would this stuff be a good approach http://www.rockler.com/product.cfm?page=11435&filter=sandpaper ?

TIA

Dan

Also, what's a good finish to apply? Want the grain to look its best, but I'd rather not darken if much.

[Joe Chritz]

Wipe it with naptha, mineral spirits or even water to see what it will look like with a finish.

I generally sand through 220, hit it with some BLO and then topcoat. It always looks flat to me until the oil treatment.

Joe

[Karl Card]

I have also found out that sanding sealer is/can be very useful... layer sanding sealer to desiered depth then final sand it then put your finish on.. I have done this with curly maple and also others that just wont sand prperly or start to rip out..

[William Hutchinson]

This video (http://charlesneilwoodworking.com/category_player.php?type=1&cat=3&video=tigerpop.flv) may give you some finishing ideas.

[Ron Jackson]

You might consider trying a card scraper. I use them most of the time on any small projects that involve curly or highly figured wood. I actually prefer a scraper over one of my low angle planes. Good luck.

[Dan Mitchell]

Thanks for the tips! William, that vid on making tiger maple pop seems just what I need (wish the quality was better!). He talks about using an alcohol based dye. I've never used one, let alone mixed my own dye. What is he referring to, exactly?

Thanks again.

Dan

[Steve Schoene]

I pretty strongly disagree about sanding sealer. It significantly weakens the overall durability of the finish (it contains a soap after all)

Alcohol based dye is simple dye powder that is alcohol soluble instead of water soluble. Fine for small objects, it dries so quickly that if you can't cover the entire surface in the time it takes to dry, it is prone to showing overlaps and streaks--unless you have the spray capabilities. You can accomplish the same thing with powdered water soluble dye and have more time to work with it and deeper penetration because it dries more slowly.

[Dan Mitchell]

Alcohol based dye is simple dye powder that is alcohol soluble instead of water soluble...

Thanks Steve. In this context I was wondering what color would be best. Make & model recommendations always appreciated! :D

[Scott Holmes]

Color is a personal choice... To pop the grain I'd us BLO then shellac to seal it in. Then top coat.

As for dyes - powder dyes and TransTint liquid dyes are easy to purchase and use.

Alcohol dyes are a bit more difficult to use; water dyes raise the grain. I normally use alcohol dyes and I generally spray them; it is much easier to control the color and get an even tone if you spray.

Wiping dyes on curly maple can give unexpected and sometimes less than attractive results.

My choice would be BLO then garnet or blond shellac.

[Dan Mitchell]

Color is a personal choice...

Scott - Yeah I know in general color would be a matter of choice, but the video William linked to showed an interesting technique specific to tiger maple where you apply the dye, which penetrates more deeply into the figured area, then sand it off. But since it has penetrated the curl more than the surrounding area, it is said to accentuate the figure. So it seems that a particular shade might be preferable.

[Scott Holmes]

I'd experiment with "honey maple", "golden brown" and maybe "brown Mahogany" TransTint dyes

[Prashun Patel]

Dan-
Due respect to the pros, but before you go dye-ing and sanding back, consider just oiling and then topcoating. Sanding to 220 is fine. In fact, even a blonde shellac will pop the curl.

Dye is great if your piece has a subtle curl that needs accentuating. If the curl is pretty visible even during sanding, then you might not need the dye.

If you really want to dye, then make sure you dilute it quite a bit b4 applying.

[David Thompson 27577]

Thanks Steve. In this context I was wondering what color would be best. Make & model recommendations always appreciated! :D

I strongly agree with Steve. Use a transtint dye dissolved in denatured alcohol, in a spritz-bottle. Then sand with 320 and 400 grit. Apply a second coat of the dye, and sand again with 320 and 400.

Then use automotive finishing techniques. Clear-coat (lacquer) numerous coats, and wet-sand up to at least 2000 grit. Follow that with polishing compound to get a mirror finish.

You'll be amazed at how good it looks, and how easy it is.