# Oil finish on maple, yew and lime



## Beowolf (28 Apr 2010)

I've read that oil based finishes on ash can turn it a nasty shade of yellow.

Are there any such gotchas with maple, yew or lime?


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## yetloh (28 Apr 2010)

can see no problem with Yew because it has natural orange tones. I would not use it on maple or lime for the same reason as for ash. For me, pale woods need a finish which adds as little color as possible. Water borne finishes add the least but they do look rather cold and tend to obscure some of the lustre. Next is pre-catalysed lacquer but this is environmentally unfriendly, is best sprayed and an explosion hazard in a space that is not properly ventilated. I would place shellac third, although it is less wear resistant than other finishes, it is easy to apply. 

It is a real dilemma. I use pre-cat despite the disadvantages but the holy grail would be a water borne finish that is as good. If I could find one, I would switch to it without question. 

Jim


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## Woodfinish Man (30 Apr 2010)

couldn't agree with you more Jim, if we could develop the holy grail of wood finishes I'd be a happy/wealthy man. Unfortunately the waterbased technology is improving but it is still quite a bit off. 

the best one we've tested is Aquabuild but it can only be sprayed and just doesn't quite bring out the life in the way that it's solvent based counterparts do.

Ian


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## yetloh (30 Apr 2010)

Ian,

That's interesting. Disappointing that there is still nothing out there but good news because it saves me the bother/expense of buying the new claimants to the throne only to be disappointed again. 

I see Morrells have a WB finish which they claim, when used in conjunction with their warming pre-finish, is comparable with solvent based lacquers but I had my doubts and didn't fancy splashing out on a 5 litre can of each to find out.

Jim


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## WellsWood (30 Apr 2010)

Tried a few oil finishes on Ash (to try and prove everyone wrong about the yellowing :roll: ). The best results so far are with Fiddes hard wax oil which seems to work quite well - minimal colour change, nice and easy to apply and a pretty hardwearing finish. I wonder if the new one by Chestnut is comparable.


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## wizer (30 Apr 2010)

WellsWood":3jf13qhz said:


> I wonder if the new one by Chestnut is comparable.



I've got some, ill try it


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## tekno.mage (18 May 2010)

Chestnut Hard Wax Oil seems to work okay on ash (unlike Danish oil which makes it go a horrid colour) but darkens it very slightly.

Chestnut Lemon Oil hardly changes the colour of ash at all leaving it lovely and pale - but it really doesn't give the same protection as some of the other (darker) oils.

I've used pure Tung oil (6 coats) on a yew bowl and despite the Tung oil being very dark and darkening the yew, the effect is rather nice and does bring out the figure in the wood well.

I really wouldn't bother with any kind of oil on Lime - the clear Lemon Oil I tried turned my sample of Lime rather grubby looking and very patchy, as it didn't absorb the oil evenly. I'd stick to a transparent wax like Woodwax 22 or Renissance Wax for that, or use a transparent acrylic lacquer.


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## Beowolf (18 May 2010)

I did oil the lime in the end. It didn't really do much to it, but I did notice it going a bit patchy. A bit more oil on the lighter parts, and it came up even. As I said though, it didn't really bring out the wood at all - maybe there is nothing there to bring out in the first place?

I'll have a look at the Renaissance Wax and see how that looks.


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## Einari Rystykaemmen (18 May 2010)

tekno.mage":v5jcm0u1 said:


> Chestnut Hard Wax Oil seems to work okay on ash (unlike Danish oil which makes it go a horrid colour) but darkens it very slightly.



I've tested it on european oak with very similar result. On oak it highlights the grain and darkens surface, but only slightly. Personally I like a lot final look of surface, dries quickly and "feels" good when touching finished surface.


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