Will BLO Darken Curly Maple?

[Keith Starosta]

Good morning, Folks! I'm entering the finishing stages on a project that is combining two of my very favorite woods...cherry and curly maple. I plan to give the cherry a "tan" before I apply ANY finish to the piece, and plan to use BLO on the cherry post-tanning. I want to keep this beautiful curly maple as bright and "white" as possible. To that end, should I avoid applying the BLO to any maple? Will the oil darken the maple, and therefore detract from the look I'm hoping for?

Thanks!!

- Keith

[Prashun Patel]

It will darken (and I mean it'll give it a yellow/amber cast) the maple, but it will also help to accentuate the curl. I like the amber cast, and I LOVE the grain accentuation, so if it were me, I'd oil the whole piece. But that's me.

Let's see some pix!

[Jeff Bartley]

BLO will definitely darken that maple, almost anything will impart some shade, but the best advice I can recommend (which was recently recommended to me!) is to test on some scrape! In my experience using an oil on curly maple really brings out the figure negating any drawback from the darkening. Do a search and you'll come up with much more detailed info on which oils and/or varnishes would be least likely to darken. Jeff

[Keith Starosta]

Thanks, guys!! I'll be doing some testing this afternoon.

- Keith

[Zach Dillinger]

If you can get some, you can use powdered pigment, something like burnt umber. Mix that with linseed oil (I prefer not to poison myself with "boiled", raw for me please) and turpentine and you'll have a nice oil-based stain that will darken the wood significantly AND will pop the grain. I just did this on a jointer plane that I'm finishing up, so I will post pics in a day or two.

[Scott Holmes]

Zach,

What poison are you talking about? The metal driers in boiled linseed oil (BLO) are no longer lead.

Raw linseed oil takes a week or more to cure and turpentine is also slow to evaporate. Using BLO and no thinner would actually speed up your process. Adding a thinner to linseed oil or BLO only thins the solution it doesn't make the linseed oil molucules smaller and doesn't help it go any deeper. It actually spreads the oil out so you end up with a lighter coat of oil that will promote inconsistent results with subsequent applications.

Try BLO straight out of the can and see if you like the faster, more grain poping results.

[Todd Burch]

... linseed oil (I prefer not to poison myself with "boiled", raw for me please) and turpentine and ...

... and why are you using turpentine then? If you read the MSDS for each, turpentine seems to be a HECK of a lot worse than BLO.

Todd

[Prashun Patel]

No disrespect to Zach: personally I wouldn't use a pigment-based stain on maple. Oil based stains like this tend (for me) to increase blotch too much. I just find it makes maple look muddy, by darkening more than just the curl (Caveat, though: I ain't no pro).

If you were going to use a colorant, I'd use an aniline dye, diluted thinly in water. I'd paint it on, then would sand it all off. This has the effect of preferentially accentuating the curl. However, you will likely leave a small bit of color on the other areas. If your aim is to leave this piece as white as possible, then using any colorant - even if sanded off - is not something I would do.

[Zach Dillinger]

Zach,

What poison are you talking about? The metal driers in boiled linseed oil (BLO) are no longer lead.

Raw linseed oil takes a week or more to cure and turpentine is also slow to evaporate. Using BLO and no thinner would actually speed up your process. Adding a thinner to linseed oil or BLO only thins the solution it doesn't make the linseed oil molucules smaller and doesn't help it go any deeper. It actually spreads the oil out so you end up with a lighter coat of oil that will promote inconsistent results with subsequent applications.

Try BLO straight out of the can and see if you like the faster, more grain poping results.

Scott, I don't know what is used in BLO, but I get a terrible headache whenever I use it. I have no such problem with raw, so I can only attribute it to whatever is in the BLO. I "wash" my raw linseed oil, as described by Stephen Shepherd, and experience no drying problems (it definitely doesn't take a week, more like 24 hours). I rub in several light coats of oil rather than flooding the surface, so this is probably the secret to my success.

Todd, turpentine is a totally natural product and I experience no issues with it. I'm not a finishing "guru", but I do work wood professionally and I know what works for me and what doesn't.

I misread the original post. If you only want to "pop" the curl and leave the rest white, do not use a pigment based stain. I thought the goal was to darken the wood and pop the curl. My mistake.

[Carl Civitella]

I have used a clear gloss on maple and it still amber's it some. I think water based poly will give you the least affect of altering the color of maple. But i am no means a expert on these matters. Carl

[Stew Hagerty]

I'm just in the process of completing a centerpiece for my mom to give here on Mother's Day. It's made from Bubinga and Quilted Maple. I brushed on a thin 1/2lb cut of Super Blonde Shellac followed by Blo. Next I plan on a few coats of GF High Perf Satin. The Shellac partially seals the wood to reduce blotching, but is thin enought to let the Blo highlight the grain. This system also reduces (but does not eliminate) the "Ambering" than is typical of Blo.

[Jerry Thompson]

Try some Tung Oil on some scrap. It will "pop" the wood and has less color to it in my experience.

[Todd Burch]

I'm just in the process of completing a centerpiece for my mom to give here on Mother's Day. It's made from Bubinga and Quilted Maple. I brushed on a thin 1/2lb cut of Super Blonde Shellac followed by Blo. Next I plan on a few coats of GF High Perf Satin. The Shellac partially seals the wood to reduce blotching, but is thin enought to let the Blo highlight the grain. This system also reduces (but does not eliminate) the "Ambering" than is typical of Blo.

I have never understood this type of schedule. Thin, or thick, shellac is a sealer. I suspect the ambering affect is lessened because there is no oil in the wood. Oil is not something I would ever sandwich between two other topcoats.

Sorry.

Todd

[Prashun Patel]

I'm with Todd. However, a thin coat of shellac will permit a marginal amount of BLO absorption. The thing is, after several layers of topcoat - which over BLO is probably going to be an oil based topcoat - the effect of BLO is negligible. I've found shellac to be a fine 'grain popper' by itself. It also seals well, which means it's easier to achieve a *thin* but even sheen with a topcoat.

[Scott Holmes]

Tung oil is more $$$ and slower drying than BLO. It also will not turn as amber over time. A light coat of shellac will pop the grain and be dry and ready to top coat in less than an hour.

[Keith Starosta]

Lots to think about and sample. I really appreciate all of the feedback, guys!

- Keith

[Stew Hagerty]

I'm with Todd. However, a thin coat of shellac will permit a marginal amount of BLO absorption. The thing is, after several layers of topcoat - which over BLO is probably going to be an oil based topcoat - the effect of BLO is negligible. I've found shellac to be a fine 'grain popper' by itself. It also seals well, which means it's easier to achieve a *thin* but even sheen with a topcoat.

I always apply another thin coat of shellac after the Blo either as a final finish or to seal the oil in preparation for a topcoat. This system works great as a blotch control. It also works (in answer to the sunbject of this thread) to lessen the darkening properties of the Blo. You are right about the Shellac popping the grain. I debated adding the oil after the first coat of Shellac on this project because it alone perked up the grain pattern. However, I wanted even more so on went the Blo. I think it turned out pretty good if I do say so myself. I'll upload and post pics later.

[Scott Holmes]

Want to really see it pop? skip the BLO and try dewaxed garnet shellac.

[Stew Hagerty]

Want to really see it pop? skip the BLO and try dewaxed garnet shellac.

Yup, Garnet is great. I use BT&C Tiger Flakes, and I always keep Super Blonde, Blonde, Amber, & Garnet on hand. In fact Garnet is my favorite on many things. Obviously though, back to the original question, Garnet won't keep the Maple as white as possible. My favorite finish is Blo, Shellac, and Black Bison Wax.
Now the particular technique I wrote earlier with Blo AFTER a coat of Shellac is something I rarely use. I only use it when I have some figure that I know is going to blotch like crazy or, back to the origin of this thread, when I want to use Blo, but I want to maintain the natural color as much as possible.