Finishing Soft Maple

[Skyp Nelson]

I'm in the middle of making a small bookcase of soft maple and would like some ideas on how to finish it. I don't really want to stain it (I hear maple doesn't do that well), but I would like to "darken" it just a little. I find the lightest parts to be a little too stark. It also has some pinkish streaks that I like. I would want to tint it in the "brown" range, not the "yellow". I have lots of scrap so I can try a few different approachs. I welcome all ideas.
TIA

[Brian Weick]

I have stained soft maple and have had no problem , you have to be careful not to sand the grain closed - your stain will float if you sand to much 180 was as far as I went - the wood is going in through out my home (base boards/Interior window trim and columns). I don't use minwax I use an NGR staining process- first application is alcohol based and the second is mineral based. this application gives you a much richer finish- Minwax is ok but most of that product is mineral spirits. Here is some of the wood work I have done - although I am sure it is not the color you are looking for. But I wanted you to know that , personally, I have had no problem staining soft maple.
Brian

[Dan Forman]

I would recommend a water soluble dye rather than stain for maple. Easiest and most lightfast is Transtint, which is available at Woodcraft (if you have a store locally), and a number of other online resources. Transtint is in a very concentrated liquid form already, so you don't have to mess with any powders.

Dan

[Pete Brown]

I used Zinsser SealCoat (a very clear dewaxed shellac) on my soft maple. I found it darkened it just enough to bring out the figure and be interesting. Try some on some scrap and see if it is enough.

If you want to go darker than that, there are other shellacs or you can go with a dye.

Pete

[Rob Mathis]

I use Tung oil.
But that is me.