# How to finish curly maple and make it "pop"



## lateralus819 (Jul 22, 2012)

This is what I'm aiming for.

http://www.robchapman.tv/forum/threads/monkey-lords-coolidge-outlander-100-amp-photo-fest.561/

I want the curls to really pop but not change the overall color of the wood TOO much. I know it isn't possible to keep the raw color but the lighter the better. :thumbsup:


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## Dominick (May 2, 2011)

I'm sorry there's probably not much you can do with it. Just send it my way and I'll dispose of it properly. It's junk wood. 

Lol. JK. Apply a clear finish to it. What's your plans for it?


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## Fred Hargis (Apr 28, 2012)

Take your wood and wipe some mineral spirits on it with a cloth, that should indicate what a clear finish will do for you...and I think it's what you're after. I normally would suggest a light coating of BLO, but you don't want color change so a top coating of a clear coat may be your only choice. If you want varnish, the alkyd-resin/ soya oil formulas (P&L 38, Cabot 8000 and so on) will minimize color change compared to the linseed oil formulas (SW Fast Dry Oil varnish, and almost all urethane resin formulas). If you don't want to use varnish, shellac may give you a very nice appearance by itself.


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## Rick Mosher (Feb 26, 2009)

Your photo is of well figured maple with a clear finish. I am sure you will get the standard advise to use boiled linseed oil to make the grain pop. I don't like to use BLO because of potential adhesion issues, the fact that BLO darkens greatly over time and you have to wait a long period of time for the BLO to dry before finishing unless you are using an oil based finish.

Since I need to get things done in a reasonable period of time I have come up with different ways to pop curly figure. 

On natural finishes like your I use a clear stain conditioner instead of BLO. I like Sherwin Williams S64 Clear stain base S64T28 or Sherwin Williams penetrating oil V82V50 

The advantage of these products is with the S64 product you can spray sealer in 30 minutes and with the V82 product just 4 hours. I also like to wet sand these products into the wood. You can either use an air jitterbug type sander with 400 grit wet or dry sandpaper or use a sanding block and do it by hand with the grain. This forces more oil into the soft pores of the wood (enhancing figure) and makes the wood baby butt smooth.

For stained curly woods I use a 2 dye method. First a thinned darker color applied very wet, allowed to dry and then sanded with a block to remove it from the harder wood. This leaves the darker color only in the soft figured pores of the wood. Now I spray on the lighter dye stain which colors both the hard and soft portions of the wood creating a spectacular contrast in the grain. I will also use the Sherwin Williams clear products as a wipe only application over the stain before my sealer.

The other part is to make sure and use a very clear finish. I use 2k urethanes so I would make sure and use an acrylic water white finish to get maximum clarity. This is a little different than what is normally recommended on most forums but don't take my word for it, give it a try and see how it works. Take some pictures and share with us what you find. :smile:


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## lateralus819 (Jul 22, 2012)

I was looking at pics online last night and i think a brown/bronze color would look awesome.


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## JBSmall (Jul 6, 2012)

It helps to start with drop-dead curl. If you look at that amp, you see that the finish can't really help some parts of it. The outer box pops all by itself.
You are interloping on top secret territory, Area 51, as far as many, especially gun-makers, are concerned. Many of them will take their secrets to their graves. I never let them know how I feel about how soon they can take them.
I agree with Rick Mosher about the two-dye method..it'll make curly two-dye for..


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