In article , Scott Lemonds wrote:
I need some finishing suggestions for some quarter sawn sycamore. The
guy I bought it from said not to use oil - it muddies the grain. He
suggested shellac, possibly with Transtint dye if more color was
needed.

Oil finishes usually highlight grain. Semi-gloss finishes, whether oil- or
water-based, will obscure it somewhat; matte finishes will obscure it a lot.

I've achieved good results on QS sycamore with Arm-R-Seal (an oil-poly blend).

I'll be using this wood for the panels in a sideboard that I want to
build and really want to show off the beautiful grain this stuff has.

It *is* beautiful, isn't it? Love it.

Any and all suggestions would be appreciated.

Try several different finishes on scraps and see which you like best.

--
Regards,
Doug Miller (alphageek at milmac dot com)

It's time to throw all their damned tea in the harbor again.