Maple veneer finishing help please

[Altoid]

I love the natural color of maple myself. If you want to keep that, then I would encourage you to look at Minwax Polycrylic. It is a water based poly, which maintains the natural color of the wood. No worries about yellowing.

[tomzarbo]

Waterlox Original is a miracle product. Wipe in on with a paper towel - very thin coats. It dries pretty fast. Continue with thin coats until you get the depth of finish your after. It won't streak. It will give you a pro quality finish that looks sprayed on. And you applied it with a paper towel! It doesn't have that cheap furniture poly look.

Sometimes I apply the second coat with 1200-1500 grit wet/dry sandpaper or a white 3M scotchpad - using the Waterlox as a lubricant. Rub it in carefully to give even pressure and not sand off any dye/stain you may have applied. Then wipe it off with clean paper towels. This process knocks down any fuzzies and yields a glass like finish. Then apply two more coats normally. It's available in satin or gloss. I use satin.

Oh, the other great thing about Waterlox - you can recoat this year or next or later without sanding. I had a sub finished as described and after 5 years had water spots and rings. I lightly cleaned it with mineral spirits and rubbed it down with two coats Waterlox. It looks brand new.

I have some of this on the way... I wasn't really looking for another finishing option, but you made it sound pretty good. I'm going to try it on some scraps.
TomZ

[Gordy]

+1 for Deft lacquer. My go to rattle can. It builds pretty good and take 320 grit really will. Not hat to use the gloss and get a glass like finish. It is also cheap and forgiving.

[Audiotorium]

Update:

After one coat of Natural Watco Danish oil and 764 coats of gloss Minwax wipe-on polyurethane, they look like this..
I am happy with the result. Next time I will try a few coats of Danish oil (no poly) and polish to a satin lustre with a 3M fine pad.

I was able to upload the photos!

[ani_101]

question - how did you bend the veneer over the facet and flush trim it on the edge?

[Audiotorium]

The veneer is very soft, so I just ironed it..
I used my router to flush trim it.

[Audiotorium]

Photos added to my post above!

[marvin]

Very nice on the box, veneer, photos, and uploading. There, that should cover it.

[djg]

Nice work.

[williamrschneider]

You should be proud of that. Very, very nice work!