Finish to pop color without adding color

[Greg Pettis]

Want to finish some marquetry pieces - oak background, marquetry woods include holly, maple, walnut, bubinga etc. I want to "pop the grain" on the darker woods but do not want the white woods to darken. BLO and Watco natural both add a yellow / orange to the white. Any suggestions on what to use that will pop the grain without significantly changing colors?

[Tim Sproul]

waterborne lacquer. Test it out as it can be a bit cool....as well as being very clear.

[Jim Summers]

Just reading through and have seen BLO mentioned a couple of times. What is that?

What are some good water based spray lacquers? Seems like the Target USL is mentioned a lot. Any ideas on cost?

TIA

[Dennis Peacock]

Jim,

BLO = Boiled Linseed Oil

WB Lacquer from USL Coatings costs under $30 per gallon...plus add shipping.

[Dennis Peacock]

Greg,

Thin some TO (Tung Oil) with 50% MS (mineral spirits), mix well and rub it on sparingly. You're not looking at soaking the wood, but only enough oil to pop the grain. I've used a good bit of t/o, blo, watco, antique oil finish, and other concoctions for some of my woodturnings. Thought some of what I've done would help here.

[Tim Sproul]

WB Lacquer from USL Coatings costs under $30 per gallon...plus add shipping.

Dang. You must be purchasing it wholesale.

It runs $36/gallon plus shipping for me. I get mine direct from the Target Coatings website. They ship 2 gallons per package....so purchasing in multiples of 2 gallons tends to be the most efficient for shipping costs.