Curly maple

[mbartlett99]

Hi All

Been away for a few years but back making sawdust again.

About to embark on a bit of a new thing - kitchen doors, shaker style with cherry frames and a curly maple veneered panel. I've never done veneering so its a bit of an unknown anyway but can anyone suggest a decent finish? I'd like a nice satin but not sure what will be tough and also bring out the figure of the maple without darkening it.

 

[profchris]

I think you'll need to experiment - how curl takes finish is hard to predict.

On curly koa I got a great depth to the curl using shellac, but that wouldn't be tough enough for a kitchen. Maybe try a couple of coats of clear shellac with satin varnish on top?

My guess is there will be a trade-off between popping the curl and achieving the least darkening.

 

[thetyreman]

I would go with dewaxed shellac, several layers of it, then danish oil for the finish. As profchris said though, test it first.

 

[Gerard Scanlan]

I recently experimented with a few finishes for accentuating quilted maple without darkening it. This should also work for curly maple in the kitchen too, where shellac is not really practical.
accentuating-quilted-maple-without-darkening-appearance-t91914.html

Hope this proves of some use to you.

 

[mbartlett99]

Cheers all,

Good job there Gerard. Think I'll give the oil then varnish a shot - used some bona mega water based poly urethane on a worktop and its virtually colour less. Also its as hard as nails - leftover from a floor job. Will see how it goes.

 

[woodbrains]

Cheers all,

Good job there Gerard. Think I'll give the oil then varnish a shot - used some bona mega water based poly urethane on a worktop and its virtually colour less. Also its as hard as nails - leftover from a floor job. Will see how it goes.

Hello,

Water borne poly will do nothing to accentuate the curly maple, though, colourless it might be. Since the maple will yellow somewhat with time, I wouldn't worry too much about adding a little colour from the finish, if it brings out the curl. Oil is the simplest way to be sure.

Flooring grade water borne poly is also a bit murky, and will lose you some clarity.


Mike.