Finishing choices for hard maple?

[Scott Geyer]

Hi all-

I'm looking for some opinions on finishing hard maple.

I am in the process of building some furniture for the new baby and have

200bf of hard maple in the shop ready to go! I've been doing some research on finishing and have read up on some interesting debates/experiences with finishes.

Has anyone had an experience that they think would be beneficial? I'm open to some ideas and have yet to purchase any finishing materials.

I'm thinking of going with a dye for light color, but what are some recommendations for finish coats? Any links to finishing techniques that I should check out?

Thanks, Scott

[Mike in Mystic]

's my result with it:

[Greg]

If I was worried about the baby chewing on it I would treat it like a cutting board (mineral oil type thing) but I was worried about durability I would use poly. If you want it pretty I will bow to the experts.

[Slowhand]

Staining maple is (even a light color) is difficult because the wood is so dense, it has a hard time soaking in to the grain. I prefer a wipe on polyurethane for maple. Watco makes a nice wipe on poly. I've also had good results with minwax wipe on poly. If you are feeling ambitious, try making your own wipe on poly. My formula is 1/3 poly, 1/3 watco oil, and

1/3 mineral spirits. Add or delete the amount of mineral spirits to get the desired consistancy. I usually apply about 5 or so coats and wet sand through 600 grit. Apply the final coat lightly with no sanding. IF you do make your own formula, use gloss poly because when you are done, the sheen will end up a satin because of the other mixtures you add. SH

[Tim Douglass]

I like the look of danish oil topped with shellac. Tried it (on recommendation of others in this group) last fall. It came out exactly as I wanted once I learned how to apply shellac without making a mess of it.

Tim Douglass

[rob]

Scott, I built my new little one a crib and dresser/changing table for his room last year, and after some asking around here decided to try shellac. I used red oak and stained first, but the orange shellac is easy to apply and adds a great looking warm glow to the piece. I really like how fast it dries. You can completely finish the piece with 3-4 coats in a single day. Easy to repair the finish as well. Check out shellac.net.

Pics of my shellaced shtuff here: robandkaren.webhop.org/woodworking.htm

[Terry Jensen]

Tim, I am in the process of finishing hard maple with a product from Fuhr. It is their #155 stain. It is a combination of a dye, pigment, and waterbased binder. It is easy to apply with a rag and I got a nice even color. I plan to spray a waterbased lacquer. I find this a good product because: hard maple does not take a pigment stain very well; I do not have to shoot a barrier coat of shellac over a water based dye; I can apply it with a rag, brush, or spray; it comes in many colors; and I can use a waterbased lacquer directly over it. This is the first time using this product. So far so good. I have no association with this brand. Terry