# Dye Vs. Tinted Shellac on Hard Maple



## Dchip (Jun 30, 2009)

I'm soon gonna be finishing a hard maple kitchen table top, and I wanted to give it a SLIGHT color. I'm thinking that even an amber shellac may do the trick, possibly with a little dye. I plan on doing test pieces, but I want to limit buying unnecessary finishing products, so I'm hoping to narrow it down to 2 or 3 top choices.

Thanks for the input.


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## shampeon (Jun 3, 2012)

Getting an even dye color on maple is extremely difficult. It just gets blotchy. I'd seal with clear shellac, see how it looks, and then do some toner coats on top. If you mix your own shellac from flakes, you can mix and match blonde, amber, and garnet flakes to get the tone you want. Then top coat it with poly or lacquer.

Test on scrap first, as always.


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## Cosmicsniper (Oct 2, 2009)

Ditto. Seal first then tone with tinted shellac. You'll like the look.


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## NiteWalker (May 7, 2011)

Tint the sealer coats. Dark vintage maple transtint looks great on maple. 
Works great.

I don't have many finishing products in my shop; zinsser sealcoat for sealing, my clear coat (crystalac super premium), and some transtint (alcohol soluble for tinting) and transfast (water soluble for dyeing wood to bright colors). Does everything I need.


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## a1Jim (Aug 9, 2008)

Use Blotch control first and then spray thinned down dye/stain until you get the shade you want.


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## ClintSearl (Dec 8, 2011)

Assuming the table gets used, shellac is not a durable finish. Use a wipe-on poly, tinted or not to the desired shade.


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