Question on finishing stained/punky wood -- NE form

[Dave Mount]

This is another piece from that decayed curly silver maple tree I posted about yesterday. This has not been finish sanded or finished. The reason neither this nor yesterday's NE form are finished is because I finished another piece from this tree and was not happy with the results. My typical finish is just Danish oil, then buffing and carnuba wax. On the piece I finished, this approach turned the grey stained parts a really muddy and too dark gray/brown. The piece just looked like it had been thrown in a mud puddle.

This piece has the grey stain and also some more advanced decay in spots. The light areas on the back side are at that stage where the wood kind of "opens up" as it decays and I know they would soak up a ton of oil and turn dark, and I'd face the same problems the grey stained areas. Yet I think a little finish penetration would be desirable to help pop the curl. I was wondering about water-based poly -- I've never used that on a bowl. My experience using it on flat work suggests it would have to be sprayed if I were to try it.

Any suggestions?

Piece is a little over 12" tip to tip and 6" tall, walls are 3/16"

Best,

Dave

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[Mike Nathal]

Water base poly is "water white" and I frequently use it on spalted wood when I don't want any amber tint to the wood. It does pop the grain, but to a lesser extent than oil base. Water base poly is not that easy to apply; lacquer is easier to apply and has less amber tint than oil base. I have tried spraying with HVLP sprayer, it does work but I found it wasteful (lots of overspray) and I had some runs that needed to be sanded out. But then again I am no expert at spraying. I have never tried the rattle cans of water base poly. I usually dilute the poly a little bit and brush it on. I try not to over-work the brushing. I sometimes get bubbles as I am brushing, but they don't seem to matter. After a few coats, I will wet sand to remove brush marks and then add some more coats. After letting it cure for a week or so, I then Beall buff. I know David Ellsworth uses a matte acrylic spray-on finish (known as "Artist's fixative") on spalted wood. He also does a combination of the acrylic spray plus adds Danish oil to selected areas of to enhance contrast without turning the other areas muddy.

[Dave Mount]

Thanks Mike. I never heard of artist's fixative before, it was interesting reading about it.