Waterlox on Maple

Might be too late

Ellis Walentine

What you're describing sounds like parts of this maple were already punky, in which case they absorbed the oil to produce exactly the effect you described. Waterlox is among the most amber of the varnishes, so it darkens this type of wood pretty dramatically.

What works for me when finishing spalted or punky wood is to seal it thoroughly with shellac before proceeding with any kind of oil or varnish. Use super blond shellac to avoid toning the wood. Build as many coats as you need until the wood stops absorbing it. On turnings, I've also used rattle cans of Krylon matte fixativ as a primer coat.

Alternately, finish with water-white lacquer or waterbased poly.

My 2¢,

Ellis Walentine, Host

Re: Might be too late

roger lance

Seal with wax free shellac if you intend to apply an additional coat of finish over the shellac.....no??

A picture would help

Re: Waterlox on Maple

Don Stephan

Some woods, cherry is the best known example, have a reputation for uneven absorption of penetrating finish. The explanation I've read said the cells in cherry are not continuously straight, but more undulating like a gentle rolling wave. At the crest and trough of the waves, the cells are horizontal, like a horizontal bundle of straws, so a limited amount of finish is absorbed. On the sides of the waves, the ends of the straws are reaching the surface of the wood and more finish can flow down the straws. This uneven absorption produces darker areas, referred to as blotching. I've never worked with soft maple and don't know whether or not it can show blotching.

Denatured alcohol, lacquer thinner, and acetone can each be used to test for blotching, by applying a liberal wash. All evaporate relatively quickly and have no long term effect on the wood or finishing.

What's the problem

Bill Tindall, E.Tn.

I do not understand the distaste for color variation in maple and cherry. If pronounced enough to be called curly, woodworkers try to enhance it. But if it is just wavy the pejorative term "blotchy" is used to describe the variation in grain.

If it is a crummy sanding job and there are dark and light areas where the grain is torn or otherwise not perfectly sanded then blotchy is a valid description. But if the color variation is the natural reversals of grain, why is this appearance to be avoided? You will find it all over my stained furniture and I like it.

BTW, Waterlox wil yellow with time and the maple will become yellow. That is a color I try to avoid.

Re: What's the problem

William Duffield

That is a color I try to avoid.

And over even more time, the maple will continue to darken, through amber to brown with a touch or orange. So why not stain the maple, for example with a mixture of burnt umber and burnt sienna, to get it past those uncomfortable teenage years?

Although "cherry sapwood is not a defect", it still is generally stained to look like heartwood. And judicious staining of hard maple sapwood to match the heartwood allows you to make fuller use of the maple.

Re: What's the problem

Larry Clinton At Frankfort, (Central) Indiana

I had to smile Bill, I feel the same way. I often finish Cherry and Walnut and nut woods without any stain as I really like the wood grain to show. I also don't mind the slight amber tinge of many oil based finishes like Behlen Lacquer, Minwax Poly etc. and Amber Shellac.

By the way, I like Nitrocellulose Lacquer and Shellac and have used them on things like baseboards and kitchen Cabinets. My son and I built his cabinets (cherry) and did all his woodwork, finished the cabinets with Lacquer (only) / white oak woodwork with stain and Shellac over 10 years ago. We did have to "touch up" some woodwork scratches from his grandchildren and dogs and some stains on the cabinets from other issues. In all cases the touch ups were no issue and are invisible.

Granted there are many more "durable" finishes, but the above can be refreshed and / or touched up forever with little more labor than cleaning the items.

"One Man's

Mark Mandell - Gone Round In New Jersey

blotch is another man's figure."

If you want to stain hardwood, you can minimize the coloration differences several ways.

1. Try sanding to a higher grit before applying finish. While most American hardwoods don't show much difference above 220 grit, taking cherry to 320 will help with the blotchiness.

2. A spit-coat of 1/2lb cut wax-free shellac as a sanding sealer will help a lot. Flood on, count to 10, wipe off and let dry. Then lightly resand with 400

3. There are products out there (Charles Neil, Minwax, etc) sold as pre-stain conditioner that will limit penetration of colorants. Have used both but still prefer the shellac. Minwax has a limited time in which to apply color. Neil's stuff is water-based so it raises the grain a lot which can lead to uneven finish film if the miss a spot or streak on the resand.