We just invested in a custom maple mantle/surround. This is a job I did not want to take on myself, despite being a good woodworker.
Well, it’s all solid hardwood maple - Absolutely stunning. Beautiful custom molding profiles and details.
I have some experience finishing maple, and I know some of the pitfals: Maple doesn’t want to absorb stain - even the lightest ‘natural’ tone. I built a bar from maple, and the top and sides stained better than I ever dreamed possible, but the custom bar rail was blotchy in spots - nice, but not sunning like it could be.
We want the wood as light as possible . Is there a way to add a finish/protective layer without staining it? Everybody pushes stain down your throat when you discuss finishing wood, and while I avoid painting nice woods whenever possible, I always stain it - even if it’s natural tone stain.
But I recall a woodworker show or two where they just added a finish, like shelac or others.
Any ideas? Some of the woodworker webs have light traffic, and the guys that do show up are carpenters, not finishers.
I’m not much of a woodworker, but my favorite varnish-type finish is Deft Semi-gloss. Goes on smooth, self-levelling, dries quick. It will darken the wood a bit, though.
Why would you stain it? I never use stain on a hardwood – usually I just put on a few coats of tung oil varnish (or Minwax poly in the case of moldings). Maple looks good with just a varnish, poly, or oil coat.
If you want it to be as light as possible, you should probably go for a water-based poly – they tend to dry clear. Most oil-based polyurethanes will add a bit of amber to the color – not a bad thing as maple is rather a cold-toned wood.
You might see if Forbin is still around on the boards – he’s a professional cabinetmaker with a lot of experience. You can also check out Flexner’s book on wood finishing (you can get it from Amazon or maybe your local library.)
I’ve also had stunning results with waxes. I have a ton of pine shelving (and you know the way that pine turns awful hues of gold when stained “natural” or even “pinkish” with water-based varnish). With the wax they are f***ing gorgeous . No discoloration, they look totally naked and with only the very slightest gloss.
The end result is that it looks like it was varnished with a semi-gloss varnish, but without any discoloration. And it covered evenly, even where the wood was less than co-operative.
Maintenance… well I’m not sure on that yet. After 2 years, I have not needed to refinish them even in the spots of heavier wear and handling. It’s sort of a “thick” finish, not like the usual furniture polishing wax. It’s also not sticky and is easy to clean – just whipe with a damp cloth.
I’m very very happy with the finish.
I use similar stuff on the maple body of my electric bass, but the stuff I use on my bass I need to re-apply every few months, even without handling it much (haven’t had time to practice lately). The maple has a better tone if left natural (unpainted, unstained).
Note: Not sure how a wax finish would hold up over a fireplace though.
I wouldn’t recommend the use of mineral oil- it is a ‘non-drying’ oil and will not seal the wood.
You probably don’t need to use polyurethane, as this piece will not be subject to a lot of wear and tear. Poly can be difficult to work with, and it takes care and skill to avoid bubbles, drips and brush strokes.
I’d suggest a tung oil finish. Tung oil gives nice, natural luster to the wood that approximates ‘semi-gloss’. It doesn’t stain the wood, but does bring out the grain patterns. After several coats, the finish develops a ‘depth’ that is lacking from polyurethane based finishes. A big advantage is that it’s a ‘rubbed in’ finish so you avoid bubble and drip issues. One disadvantage is that each coat is thinner than poly, so you really need to put on at least 3 coats; I usually do about 5.
If you are concerned about wear and tear, you can make a 1:1 mixture of poly (use the oil based!) and tung oil.
Bar none, I would use Minwax Ultra clear Polycrylic. It’s new. I put four coats of this on a very nice hardwood maple table and it looks absolutely stunning. All the luster, all the light color, the grain was brought out wonderfully. This is the exact stuff I used…check it out. Highly, HIGHLY recommend it.
I used hard maple on my coffee table, and I used the water based Varathane thinned with a little kerosene. I used a fine foam roller and didn’t get a single bubble. I am really happy with the results. But, as pipper pointed out, since there won’t be much wear and tear, poly isn’t really needed. I would avoid doing a 1:1 mixture of poly and tung, because the oil based poly does do some yellowing.
The polycrylic I posted about is new I think, and is not oil based. So it’s clean up is with water… for new products I really like it. Basically, minwax did what Nurse and Pipper talked about…except they packaged it all in one can
Did I say I thinned with kerosene?!? Okay, it’s a bit too early to be typing, considering the work party was last night. I thinned it with distilled water.
It appears that my blood is still thinned with alcohol.
I too have had very good luck wi the tung oil, specifically on an antique maple table after stripping it. Minwax poly did wonders as well on some stained bookshelves I built for a library.
I guess what I’m most curious about is how much wear would a “surround” be subject to? In fact, what is a “mantle surround”? Will it have drinking glasses placed on it, decorative items pulled across?
