I am just finishing my kitchen island, made primarily of Birdseye Maple. My question is regarding finish. I really would like to use something that will pop the grain as much as possible. So, I was thinking of using BLO first, the an oil based satin poly over it. Is this a good idea? How long after applying the BLO can I start putting the Poly on?

On 4/23/2011 8:18 AM, jtpr wrote:
I am just finishing my kitchen island, made primarily of Birdseye Maple. My question is regarding finish. I really would like to use something that will pop the grain as much as possible. So, I was thinking of using BLO first, the an oil based satin poly over it. Is this a good idea? How long after applying the BLO can I start putting the Poly on?

Why don't you try using one of the General Finish's products
(Arm-R-Seal) that David J. Marks uses that are known for showing the
depth in grain patterns of highly figured woods:

http://www.djmarks.com/stories/faq/w...hane_46687.asp

http://www.djmarks.com/stories/djm/f...ture_47341.asp

You will get all kinds of comments about various finishes not being
recommended in a kitchen, for a furniture like island made with figured
woods I would personally ignore most of them and do what you want to do
to get the kind of look that _you_ want.

Finishes that will be commented upon as "not being good in a kitchen"
are almost universally the easiest to fix when the inevitable happens in
that type of environment.

--
www.e-woodshop.net
Last update: 4/15/2010
KarlC@ (the obvious)

On Sat, 23 Apr 2011 06:18:54 -0700 (PDT), jtpr
wrote:

I am just finishing my kitchen island, made primarily of Birdseye Maple.
My question is regarding finish. I really would like to use something
that will pop the grain as much as possible. So, I was thinking of using
BLO first, the an oil based satin poly over it. Is this a good idea?
How long after applying the BLO can I start putting the Poly on?

Skip the agony and delays by simply applying Waterlox Satin to the
countertop. It contains tung oil for the pop (and it does that well)
and phenolic resin for durability and waterproofing. It's also easily
repaired, unlike polyurinestain. It doesn't leave witness lines and
layers melt into each other a bit.

Be sure to put Bloxygen or argon over the top before you reseal the
container. It goes off too easily.

I'm with Swingy. Almost any finish is OK in the kitchen as long as
you're not chopping on it. Then you don't want any finish (ie: a
butcher block.)

--
Accept the pain, cherish the joys, resolve the regrets;
then can come the best of benedictions -
'If I had my life to live over, I'd do it all the same.'
-- Joan McIntosh