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Finishing very light woods, while preserving their natural, neutral, light/white colors?

Jon Rista

Jon Rista

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This conversation started in another thread that is all about showcasing your latest on-lathe workpieces, and I don't want to derail the topic of that thread. So I'm starting this thread, to discuss finishing options for very light colored woods. I'm working on this piece right now, one of five or six pieces of this really nice, bright white (with very faint gray and rust colored staining) American Holly wood below. I have some other very light colored woods, mostly maple, but I have some white oak as well (not quite as light colored as the maple or holly, but light enough that I think it fits the discussion.) I actually also have four or five more pieces of the same kind of brigh white holly as below, that I will be turning over the next few days here.

So the question is, what is the best way to finish a piece like this holly, nicely, I generally prefer a satin sheen, and I really like to bring out the wood grain characteristics and chatoyance if there is any, while having a minimal to zero impact on the color of the wood. Color...vs, say, brightness? I know that most woods experience a darkening effect, which I wouldn't necessarily call a change in color in and of itself. I think the darkening is really more of a consequence of revealing the true color of the wood, more than anything, as light penetrates better with a finish, scatters less...I think its the scattering of light off of dry wood fibers, that leads to dry woods having a lighter and often "softer" appearance...

In any case, the goal is to limit changing the color of light woods when you finish them. I've had this problem most with maples, especially figured maples, which will often turn yellow or even a bright orange, when finished with any oil based or shellac finish (even very blond shellacs.) FWIW, I have mostly used oil based finishes, as well as shellac with polishing pastes and finishing waxes. Anything oil of course, is going to yellow the wood, but on most woods its not a problem. Its only really an issue, for these very light colored, white or very very light tan colored woods, where yellowing can have a significant impact on the color of the wood.

I have not used many water-based finishes. I tried some in the past, but I was never quite able to either get them to work the way I wanted, or they just produced a kind of finish I didn't really like? I think what I've tried, as far as water-based finishes goes, are polycrylic (hated this stuff!! Looks like a film over an air pocket over the wood!), Craft Coat (which is, in all honesty, something I don't entirely understand...IIRC it is some kind of modified oil, water-based, clear urethane finish of some kind...?), and a couple of water-based polys. Most of these finishes, ended up looking like a pure surface film over an air bubble on the surface of the wood. I don't think there was actually any air bubble, it just kind of looks that way. There seems to be basically zero penetration of the finish into the wood, so, most just didn't bring out the chatoyance or anything... That said, I suspect water-based finishes are the best option, for neutral color-impact finishes. I don't know if there may be other water-based finishes that, work better, or more similarly to oil based finishes? The "film sitting on top" without any penetration, is very unappealing to me personally, but if there is a water based finish that DOES have some penetration, and can coat the fibers a bit and, well, basically do what oil does, without the yellowing...then that would be quite interesting to me.

Craft Coat, was interesting, and I actually still have some, and it may be worth more experimentation. I think its clear, but, it is supposedly some kind of "modified oil" or something like that. I honestly don't quite understand what it is, and if anyone really does, I think it would be interesting to hear more details. I am afraid to use it on the piece below, unless I'm sure it will have zero color impact, or at least one so minor that it doesn't have a meaningful impact to the color. In the few cases I have used it, it did seem to bring out more of the characteristics of the wood...but at the same time, it also seemed to....shrink? I used it on some small spindles, and when first coated it looked like a CA finish, smooth and flat. Once it fully dried, though, it seemed to shrink wrap the pieces, and had a bit of a wrinkled appearance (I think it might have been nuances of the wood grain pushing through the finish?) That shrink-wrapped effect, is largely what turned me off of it, but I honestly don't know if it was poor application/user error, or an intrinsic characteristic of the finish.

I also have used shellacs. I just got home from the local Woodcraft. They carry a bunch of shellac flakes, from your dark amber up through super-blond (not sure how that compares to ultra blond). The sticker shock blew me through the shelving behind me: $62 for a 1/2lb bag!! I bought a bag of this stuff, probably the super blond, although I thought it was called ultra blond before, back in 2020, and IIRC it wasn't even half the cost it seems to be now. The cheapest bag was the medium toned flakes at $49 per 1/2lb, and the amber was about the same as the super blond. IIRC the brand was BT&C, and I guess they have a complex process involving steps in several different countries, before they actually import into the US. So there are probably multiple levels of tariffs involved now. I don't know of anyone has any recommendation for shellac flakes...I'd be interested in the most ultra blond flakes known to man, but in smaller quantities than half a pound...maybe an ounce or two. I think some ultra blond shellac, might do the trick for preserving the neutral colors of these very light woods.

I frequently use Zinsser's Bullseye SealCoat (sanding sealer), which seems to have a relatively neutral appearance, but I don't know if its neutral enough to have no color impact, or very minimal color impact, on something as light and white as holly. I'm afraid to even try it, but I may try to round and true up one of the other holly blanks, and see what this stuff looks like before I fully turn it, as a test case. I use the SealCoat on a lot of what I turn, as after sealing, I use Acks sanding paste and finishing wax to get a final slightly-shiny satin sheen. With light, figured maples, there is a slight change in color, but the maple isn't as white and bright as holly, so I don't think its a great test case for how this stuff might affect holly.

In the other thread, someone mentioned using just a stick of carnauba wax as a finish. I do have carnauba wax, however the sticks I have are very, very yellow. I've tried my hand at finishing small pieces, such as tops and even a couple of pens, with direct application of carnauba wax. The approach I take is to get it to melt, then spread it around and try to get an even coating. Applying carnauba without any streaking or anything like that, seems rather challenging, and this is all on very small pieces...don't know how well it would go on larger pieces. One of the holly blanks I have is a 14 or 15" platter blank, and another platter blank maybe an inch or so smaller than that. So there would be a lot of surface area to cover...honestly not sure how viable carnauba is for that. Would be curious to hear what others think of carnauba as a finish for larger pieces.

I don't know if there are any other viable options for color-neutral finishes. Oh, I guess, maybe, lacquer? I have some lacquer, although I haven't used them much. I have always had a bit of trouble applying lacquer, and I know there can be some complexity to lacquer finishes as you have different kinds (i.e. pre-cat, post-cat, etc.) and while most is sprayed, you can also brush it on. I also don't know if lacquer yellows over time, or maybe its just some types of lacquer that can yellow over time while others do not? I have some Watco, as well as a can of ProLux which is apparently the new name for what used to be the beloved Deft! I am quite sure the issues I have with lacquer are user error, and I may simply just not be applying enough in each coat (based on a tip someone recently gave me), but I don't know for sure. And I am also not sure if it is a good option for color-neutral finish. Would like to learn more, though!

IMG_20250519_193812.jpg
 
An age-old question for those really light woods. I'm not a lacquer user at all, but that was my first thought, but I'm not sure.

I've had these two cans of carnuba paste wax forever. The Lundmark's claims to have another hardening agent in it with the carnuba. I use very little wax, and I've never turned holly, but I don't recall either of these really affecting the look of my final work. When I bought them, neither were expensive. Neither has offensive solvent fumes like Briwax's toluene (Lundmark is turpentine, if I recall, maybe both of them). If your piece is meant for an artistic existance and not for morning Cheerios, maybe try one of these as the only finish product. My photo color rendering may not be completely accurate, but the bulk wax in the can may be a shade more yellow than your holly, but its color when applied and buffed may be neutral(?).

Carnuba is the hardest natural wax with a 180 degree F melting point. I have a block, hard as oak. I wouldn't put the block up against a spinning piece for fear of damaging the wood.
20250521_054245.jpg20250521_054526.jpg
 
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I think you’re expecting the impossible if you want to enhance the chatoyance AND preserve the natural color of the wood. It’s a classic “can’t have your cake and eat it too”. That said, maybe the best compromise approach would be to treat the surface with some dilute shellac (maybe 1/2# cut) a couple of times and sand back. Then, finish with spray lacquer. I’ve done this with Eastern Red Cedar when I want to preserve as much pink as possible, without darkening it much.

Otherwise, the best way to fully preserve the nature color would be something like you mentioned: polycrylic or an acrylic matte finish. It will look like a surface film, of course.

Alternative route: something like Holly, you can try to find a (white) tinted hard wax oil that matches Holly’s color. Will require some tests, but might get you were you want.
 
To keep from yellowing wood with oil and I don't want gloss I sometimes spray with light coats of satin or matte lacquer or acrylic from a rattle can, 2 or three coats, sometimes lightly using 0000 Liberon steel wool between coats.. Test on a small, sanded sample first. For a little glossier look a couple of thin coats of Deft satin lacquer can look good. I used this on 5 small pieces recently, including one turned from alabaster. (don't get carried away and apply too much at once.)

Alabaster is quite interesting to turn - I brought some back form Voltera, Italy a few years back. I never tried turning rock before.
 
CAB acrylic lacquer is water white and non-yellowing. You might also try Target EM 6000 acrylic lacquer for a waterborne product. If you are ok with the minimal durability of a wax finish try using the Beal buffing system with carnauba wax.
 
Not long ago I saw a Tomislav Tomasic youtube video where he was using a new-to-him finish from, I believe, a German supplier, which was supposed to not impart any color or tone change to the wood. I thought he said it was an oil... Sorry I can't provide a link, but he was unboxing a big load of stuff, if that helps you find the video.
 
Michael Anderson said:
I think you’re expecting the impossible if you want to enhance the chatoyance AND preserve the natural color of the wood. It’s a classic “can’t have your cake and eat it too”.

Alternative route: something like Holly, you can try to find a (white) tinted hard wax oil that matches Holly’s color. Will require some tests, but might get you were you want.
Click to expand...

You may be right. Still, you always want to have your cake and eat it too. :P

I did actually find some super blond shellac flakes last night, just 4oz (which is enough to tide me over for quite a while I think!) that is described as being an "ultra clear finish" and most of the comments were that it had a very minimal impact on color. It hasnt' arrived yet, should be here later. I'll give that a try and see how it goes. I know it will impart a slight yellowing, can't have perfectly clear shellac, but maybe it will be clear enough.

The idea about tinted hard wax oil is interesting. If the super blond shellac doesn't do teh trick, I may give that a go.


I found a couple of water based finishes last night. One was a somewhat older bottle of General Finishes water based "Wood Turner's Finish" which has a milky white appearance in the bottle, but goes on clear. I also found my bottle of Craft Coat.

The GF Wood Turner's Finish, I think, has a severe yellowing problem. This bottle is maybe two years old, and its been well sealed since it was last opened, and its mostly very full. Some of the finish had dried, and gone not just yellow, but brilliant amber! I had to dig it out of the applicator cap, and this stuff was O-RANGE. Kind of surprised me, that a water based finish would yellow so much in so little time. I forget what I finished with it before, but I suspect that piece probably has fairly significant color change now. Its not a big deal, though, as this stuff has that same plastic film look based on a few test applications I made on a few maple pieces last night, and I think that's why I stopped using it before. I suspect it will go into the trash can today.

The Craft Coat. That stuff is probably three years old, and its been sealed since I last used it. It seems to be as good as the day I bought it, none of it dried at all, in the cap or the bottle. It is still this slightly milky translucent color, so no yellowing, that's a good thing. I think this stuff has a very, very slight yellow tint, maybe its about as much as the shellac I bought...going to try and test later. Again, though...I made a few test applications last night on some light maple...and once it dried it looked more like a plastic film on top of the wood. This stuff, though, supposedly, is an "oil modified" base, and I'm wondering if I sand optimally if it will gain some penetration. So I am going to keep experimenting.
 
Well, I think I'm again writing off water based finishes... I really don't like how they look. I don't know if there are others that might look better, but they look like bad plastic to me, once they are fully dried. I've tried some minwax water based poly, craft coat, general finishes wood turner's finish (water based), and polycrylic. In the end they all kind of look the same in terms of a plasticy film on top of the wood, although polycrylic and the GF wood turner's finish seem to look the worst. None of them do anything to bring out the chatoyance of any wood, and I've been testing on a number of different kinds including holly and maple (some with ripple figuring), purpleheart, redheart, walnut, canary wood and one other I don't know what it is. With oil based finishes or shellac, the purpleheart, redheart, canarywood and figured maple in particular, really show off their chatoyance. Even the walnut shows off some.

So I'm down to lacquers and shellac. I have some super blond shellac that's up next. Its a little yellow in the bottle, not sure how it will look on the holly. On the maple, it does not actually seem to change the color any more than any of the water-based finishes have, at least so far. I need to add more coats before I can get a final verdict on coloration, and I need to test on the holly as well. If this works ok, then maybe the Platina shellac someone linked to previously, will do a better job. It looked a lot clearer than the super blond I picked up the other day.

Lacquer might work as well. I want to get more practice with that before I try, but I prepped another one of the holly blanks for turning and have just been testing on the outside surface of that (which will all just be turned away.) I know shellac can help bring out the chatoyance in woods, so that may be my solution in the long run. I know it won't be 100% entirely neutral...but, I am not sure that the water based finishes truly are either. And that really isn't the expectation, either...I just want to preserve the neutral color as much as I can.
 
Well, the super-blond is out. :'( Seems to work fine on any wood except Holly. I couldn't tell any difference in coloration between the super blond shellac and any of the water based finishes. On the holly, though, it was...eh, piss yellow-green. Terrible color!

I will have to see about that Platina blond shellac. Next up, though, is lacquer...which I don't think I'll try until I have a better handle on using it consistently.
 
Well, I may have spoken too soon with regards to the super blond shellac... I just got back to the piece. The shellac is fully dry now, and while it still has a slight yellowing effect...its actually a lot more neutral than it looked at first. I've applied another coat, as well as a bit of the Zinsser's Bulseye SealCoat, for comparison purposes. Letting that dry, but in the mean time....curious what people think here:

Orange Light Lamp (2700-3000K):
IMG_20250522_124554.jpg

White Light Lamp (~6000K):
IMG_20250522_124626.jpg

Sunlight:
IMG_20250522_124643.jpg

I think this could work, if the color doesn't get any more pronounced once additional coats are applied.
 
Ok. Don't have pictures yet, as the latest coats are still drying. I've put on 6 coats of the super blond shellac, three coats of Zinssers BullsEye SealCoat, and one coat of the Craft Coat oil-modified water-based finish (whatever it is.) The latter two, do darken a bit more, and are a bit more yellow, than the super blond shellac. With many coats, however, there is not much difference between the three. They all darken the holly a bit. I knew there would be nothing that could avoid that. Its a bit sad, the holly looks so good when its dry with its natural bright white fibers, but even just buffing with wax, I am sure I'd get darkening.

The super blond does seem to have the least impact on coloration. I may give the Platina shellac a try in the future, but its a pound, and...heck, I don't know if I turn enough that I'd use an entire pound of shellac even over the next several years! It might have slightly less color than the super blond, but I think the major effect is the darkening, the color is relatively minor and seems largely consistent across the various water based or other light finishes I have tried. So the bright white holly, becomes a bit more of a gray-white color when finished.

I still have not tried the lacquer yet. That said, I've been using the ProLuxe. Aside from the fact that their darn caps don't seem to come off without total destruction, I've had to destroy every cap of every ProLuxe can I've purchased so far (!!), I actually really like this stuff. I'd never had a chance to use Deft before, but I think I understand why it was so loved. I mean, this is the same stuff, and it just goes on better, and the spray nozzle is so much better on the ProLuxe cans, than the Watco. I have not had any issues of any kind so far. I am closer than I was the first time I experimented with ProLuxe, and I think that may have been my universal problem. I still need to add a few more coats before I can really judge the differences, but I do like the ProLuxe "experience" so far...the spray is really so much better. Its more of a wedge, than a cone, it shoots out in a thin wedge and that actually gives you so much more control overall.

After the latest coats of shellac dry, I'll turn those off, and see how the ProLuxe lacquer looks on the holly. I have been purchasing gloss, but I can pick up a can of satin too, as I think that would actually look better with the holly than gloss.
 
Alright. More photos...I think the super blond shellac is the least color-impacting. It DOES have an impact, though. The yellow color of any finish, even if its slight, seems to become slightly greenish on holly. Which isn't entirely appealing. I'll be giving the ProLuxe/Deft lacquer a try next, once I turn these off.

Orange light, super blond vs. unfinished holly:
IMG_20250522_154627 (1).jpg

Orange light; Craft Coat/Zinssers SealCoat/Super Blond comparison:
IMG_20250522_154706__01.jpg

Sunlight; Craft Coat/Zinssers SealCoat/ Super Blond comparison:
IMG_20250522_154753.jpg

There is less of a difference between the super blond and zinssers sealcoat. This is three coats of Zinssers, and six coats of my super blond (which is probably a 1/4lb cut, or slightly more, of just the shellac dissolved in DNA; I am not sure if DNA is the best, I've heard that you can also mix it with 90% isopropyl and I might do that next time.)

With six coats of the super blond, while the Zinsser's is darker, the Zinsser's is also a bit shinier. The pure super blond shellac actually has a very very flat appearance. It does not look bad, but its not quite what I've been used to using the Zinsser's. I have used Zinsser's with Acks sanding paste and polishing wax for a long time, since I got started in woodturning. It can produce a very very nice finish when you fully polish it. I haven't really used home made shellac mixes much before, and I suspect I'll need probably double the number of coats I have so far, before I'd risk using the Acks sanding paste (which, if the wood fibers are not totally protected, it can color the fibers itself, as that stuff has an orange-brown color itself.)

The Craft Coat. I honestly don't know what that is, its called an oil-modified finish, but I thought it was primarily water based. So I don't know if its water based, oil based, or something in the middle of the two. In any case, it seems like a water based finish, as it leaves a pretty heavy surface film. It looks relatively dull, plastic/rubber like, and I am not sure if it will fully cure to a nice hard coat, or if it will remain the kind of rubbery/plastic feel it has now. As far as I can tell, it doesn't take long to fully dry, and supposedly can be sanded back. I don't know how well it will take a polish, though, if at all. It also has the greatest darkening effect of all three, and it causes more greening than the other two. I still think its going in the "never to be used again water-based finishes" bin.

Lacquer is up next, and I am hoping it doesn't cause any "greening" with holly. Its not really apparent in the photos, which for some reason seem to may the holly look more gray (maybe even slightly green) than it appears to my naked eyes. Its quite white, with some gray streaks and a couple of rusty red stains. But overall, this stuff is pretty white to my eyes naturally.
 
See Kent Jaffrey's post #7


Michael Nathal

Thread 'My Osmo experiments'

Well, I have been using the Osmo Polyx for about a month now and really like it. I bought the gloss version, which I think is relatively new. In my tunings, I generally produce three levels: 1. Matte/satin: pure oil only, (walnut or tung), not buffed. 2. Semi-gloss: pure oil plus Beall buffing. 3. Glossy: either oil/varnish blends like danish oil, or oil base poly, or sometimes lacquer, or sometimes water base poly, all with multiple coats, sanding between some coats, followed up with Beall buffing. I find glossy coatings sell the best on my artistic pieces. Osmo is similarly glossy...
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Michael Nathal said:
See Kent Jaffrey's post #7


Michael Nathal

Thread 'My Osmo experiments'

Well, I have been using the Osmo Polyx for about a month now and really like it. I bought the gloss version, which I think is relatively new. In my tunings, I generally produce three levels: 1. Matte/satin: pure oil only, (walnut or tung), not buffed. 2. Semi-gloss: pure oil plus Beall buffing. 3. Glossy: either oil/varnish blends like danish oil, or oil base poly, or sometimes lacquer, or sometimes water base poly, all with multiple coats, sanding between some coats, followed up with Beall buffing. I find glossy coatings sell the best on my artistic pieces. Osmo is similarly glossy...
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Click to expand...

Interesting. It doesn't look like it changes color any more than just wetting the wood does. Looks like that was maple. I've used Osmo Polyx, never the TopCoat. If all else fails, its another option!

Even the lightest maple I have, seems to fare much better with even the Zinsser's shellac, and there doesn't seem to be much difference between the super blond and Zinsser's on my various maple blanks. Holly is a unique beast, for sure... I am starting to think that some of the green I am seeing with this particular piece of holly I've been testing with, may actually be in the wood. When I dim the light a bit, the bare wood actually starts to look like it has the faintest of greenish tints as well. I thought it was a "gray" fiber or staining that runs through parts of it, but I think its actually more of a gray-green. I have four more of these holly blanks. I may need to true some more of them up and see if any others are as white as the first one, and see how the super blond fares. There is some darkening, but maybe there isn't as much coloring as I am thinking?

For anything not-white-as-paper-white as the holly, I think the super blond is going to do the trick just fine.
 
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