Recently made frame and panel doors for cabinets. Frame (and panel onlay) is maple stained mahogany color. Panel is birch plywood. I like the contrast between the blond plywood and the reddish frame and onlay. However when I apply either polyurethane (water or oil-based) or Danish oil, the plywood darkens too much and the contrast is markedly lessened. Is there a finish I can use on the plywood which will keep the blond color? Thanks
Discussion Forum
Get It All!
UNLIMITED Membership is like taking a master class in woodworking for less than $10 a month.
Start Your Free TrialCategories
Discussion Forum
Digital Plans Library
Member exclusive! – Plans for everyone – from beginners to experts – right at your fingertips.
Highlights
-
Shape Your Skills
when you sign up for our emails
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. -
Shop Talk Live Podcast -
Our favorite articles and videos -
E-Learning Courses from Fine Woodworking
-
-
Replies
A water clear waterborne finish is about as light as you can get. The only thing you could do that would have less color change might be a clear wax. That is hardly a finish--offering almost zero protection. No matter what you do the birch is also going to darken over time as a natural process.
If it were really worth the effort, you could use a two part bleach and remove the color from the birch. You could also use a pickling stain to lighten the birch. I don't really recommend these things. The natural color of the birch is the color after it has been "wet" by the finish, not the raw unfinished material. .
The cardinal rule for all experianced and professional finishers is what Steve has posted as his last sentence. Test your finishing plans of scrap or in an inconspicuous spot before committing to finishing the whole item.
This forum post is now archived. Commenting has been disabled