Finishing Maple Box

jim crockett

Member
Messages
120
Location
Jay, Maine
I am building box of hard maple. I really don't want the light tan/almost white color of the maple and I know that oil varnish will add a slight amber tint to the finish. But I think I'd like it to be a bit warmer even. I could stain it, but I think that would be too much. I've never used dyes and again, I think that might be more color shift than I prefer. What I guess I want is an amber with a slight red tint to it.

Any ideas? What would BLO followed by several coats of wipe-on poly do for me?

Jim
 
Why guess? Try test scraps. Maple can sometimes (certainly not always) be blotchy with oils. If my test pieces from a certain piece of wood tend to blotch, I seal with a 1lb cut of dewaxed shellac and then oil or dye it. The color is much lighter after sealing so again, use valid test pieces. By valid I mean pieces that have been given the same sanding and preparation protocol as your actual piece.
 
I use Transtint dyes for almost all my work and I do a lot of maple, well curly maple that is. I like Transtint "Honey Amber" on maple for it's warm golden color and it really makes the figure stand out.
 
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