I know the topic may be exhausted but I have a small mint worth of counter
tops coming into my store at the end of the week and have a simple question.
First I should say that some of the counter tops will just get a mineral oil
treatment and will be used as a sort of decorative food prep area. Other
counters will be used for eating off of (not literally), for coffee service,
and as a checkout counter. These areas will need a hard finish to prevent
water and other schmutz damage.

Now the obvious choice I guess is a poly finish. The only thing is that the
raw hard maple has very little depth or color and I'm concerned that a poly
finish will just lock in that lack of "character." Is there any way of
bringing out some depth in the wood before applying the polyurethane?

Thanks,
dwhite

Find out what Edsal puts on work bench tops, then wash it off with mineral
spirits, then shoot on your poly. I have an Edsal and a raw homebuit with poly
on both. The Edsal has a lot better grain definition and color. I will try to
get some pix if you want.

Hi Dan,
Suggest you ask you question here on the Homestead Finishing forum. It will
take two minutes to register (it's a moderated forum) and it does not generate
any spam. Cheers, JG
http://www.homesteadfinishing.com/phpBB2/portal.php

Dan White wrote:

I know the topic may be exhausted but I have a small mint worth of counter
tops coming into my store at the end of the week and have a simple question.
First I should say that some of the counter tops will just get a mineral oil
treatment and will be used as a sort of decorative food prep area. Other
counters will be used for eating off of (not literally), for coffee service,
and as a checkout counter. These areas will need a hard finish to prevent
water and other schmutz damage.

Now the obvious choice I guess is a poly finish. The only thing is that the
raw hard maple has very little depth or color and I'm concerned that a poly
finish will just lock in that lack of "character." Is there any way of
bringing out some depth in the wood before applying the polyurethane?

Thanks,
dwhite

Thanks Greg and JGS. I'll try both of those things.

dwhite


"JGS" wrote in message
...
Hi Dan,
Suggest you ask you question here on the Homestead Finishing forum. It
will
take two minutes to register (it's a moderated forum) and it does not
generate
any spam. Cheers, JG
http://www.homesteadfinishing.com/phpBB2/portal.php

Dan White wrote:

I know the topic may be exhausted but I have a small mint worth of
counter
tops coming into my store at the end of the week and have a simple
question.
First I should say that some of the counter tops will just get a mineral
oil
treatment and will be used as a sort of decorative food prep area.
Other
counters will be used for eating off of (not literally), for coffee
service,
and as a checkout counter. These areas will need a hard finish to
prevent
water and other schmutz damage.

Now the obvious choice I guess is a poly finish. The only thing is that
the
raw hard maple has very little depth or color and I'm concerned that a
poly
finish will just lock in that lack of "character." Is there any way of
bringing out some depth in the wood before applying the polyurethane?

Thanks,
dwhite