Gayle Posted March 3, 2016 Report Share Posted March 3, 2016 Hi! Just joined the forum. Been getting into a lot of furniture refinishing lately, but I just bought a 10' live slab maple for a countertop, and I want to make sure I put the right product on it. I've read maple will eventually turn yellowish? with certain products? Definetly do not want this!! I have a beachy theme going on, so want to keep it light. I've seen milk? finishes? Would love to keep it natural, like it looks now, any ideas? Wish I knew how to insert a pic because it is BEAUTIFUL!! Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated, thank you in advance! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brendon_t Posted March 3, 2016 Report Share Posted March 3, 2016 Hi gayle, we always like pictures. Maple can yellow a bit with finish as many light blonde woods can. Specifically oil based finishes should be avoided if you want to keep it white. I personally don't have any recommendation for water based stuff but I'm sure somebody will. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drzaius Posted March 3, 2016 Report Share Posted March 3, 2016 Maple always yellows to some extent over many years. Some water based finishes won't yellow over time, but the wood itself will. I don't know of any finish (other than pickling or painting) that will keep it from yellowing, but I'm far from knowledgeable in this area. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gayle Posted March 4, 2016 Author Report Share Posted March 4, 2016 Does it sound crazy to maybe stain it a grey tone, try to make it look like driftwood, to prevent the yellowing, or is that ruining the true nature of the maple? This slab was a little pricy, so I don't want to make the wrong decision! Thanks guys! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wdwerker Posted March 4, 2016 Report Share Posted March 4, 2016 You can do some testing on the underside to see how the finishes and any stains will look on the actual wood. Water based finishes will give you the lightest appearance. Any finish will slightly darken or change the color and appearance . Save and sand any off cut pieces for finish testing as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dknapp34 Posted March 4, 2016 Report Share Posted March 4, 2016 If it were me, I wouldn't stain it, because trying to make one wood look like another wood often doesn't produce stellar results. I suspect that even if you nail the gray driftwood color, it still will be lacking, because you can't really match the weathered look of real driftwood. But that's just a guess, since I've never tried it. I think its usually better to let the natural beauty of the wood come out, rather than trying to cover it up with stain, but that's just my personal taste. If you do decide to go the staining route, as wdwerker said, definitely do some testing first. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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