Bird's Eye Maple

Paste wax

Yup. Paste wax and buff it good.

When I watched the Frank Klausz "Wood Finishing" video he used 5-6 coats of Tung Oil. It didn't start to gloss until then. He also showed how to get a high gloss sheen by using rubbing compounds and buffing it out (you have to let it cure first). He went satin with paste wax and steel wool (I'd say his untouched surface was a nice semi-gloss).

Hmmm...plus I can't remember but he may have used Polymerized Tung Oil.

I got the video from my library -- you might check yours or order it from your favorite bookstore.

Mike

WOW!!! What a difference. Thanks for the quick response!

FYI, I had played with some black dye on the bird's eye maple to see what it looked like. Hated it until I put the wax on. Now I am amazed at the depth and figuring in the wood. I will have to find a project to try it on. I am sure the wife will come up with something.

For the last coats, I use polymerized tung oil with 0000 steel wool. The wood presents a nice sheen and you feel the wood, not plastic, when you touch it. You can see the results if you look at my workbench's drawers at the following address: