Finishing schedule for dyed curly maple

Status
Not open for further replies.

fergy

New User
Fergy
I'm working on a kid's toy chest at the moment. Frame and panel construction, same idea as most of the blanket chests out there.

Knowing that maple is splotch-prone, and knowing that I'm trying to dye this a dark red using transtint in an alcohol mixture, what's my best way to achieve this with minimal splotching, yet dark, rich color and pop?

Jewett has several different ways of dealing curly maple, but most of those involve lighter colors so washcoating prior to dying is fine. It seems like glue sizing is the preferred means of controlling splotch when using alcohol dye. I would imagine that spraying a 1/2# cut of shellac would work, so long as I'm careful applying the dye over that. But I'm worried about that reducing the effect of the dye. I'm aiming for a brick red or even a bombay red. I don't want to block too much of the curl, so I'll probably keep it lighter and tone over it with the sprayed finish.

I've already dyed the panels and had some problems with splotch. I've reduced it a bit by using a Danish oil application over the dye, with heavy sanding to polish it up. It's popping the figure nicely. Strangely, the backer veneer on the plywood has a nicer finished figure than the front surface. Luckily, it's maple ply on both surfaces.

Following the oil, I'll spray shellac to close up the grain and allow a little more sanding, and finish it with sprayed pre-cat lacquer tinted to achieve my final toned color on both the frames and panels. I'm finishing in lacquer to achieve the durability that I want with the kids.

So, what's my best bet for the hardwood pieces of maple?
 

Tarhead

Mark
Corporate Member
You can prevent some splotching by sanding the pieces you're concerned about to 320 instead of fooling with shellac. 320 will burnish the pores and prevent dye absorption. Try it on a piece of scrap. I've had Shellac splotch on some Maple I've used so you have to have a plan B.
 

fergy

New User
Fergy
I saw Jeff mention that on his forum, but strangely, it's not in any of his books. I'll try it on some scrap.

I'm finally putting that curly maple from the bulk buy to use. Now I need more of it to finish some other projects.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Premier Sponsor

Our Sponsors

LATEST FOR SALE LISTINGS

Top