Quarter sawn white oak finish

[Phil Watson]

I have tried 6 different finishes with results I am not happy with on quarter sawn white oak. My wood
has a lot of flecking and rays. What I am looking for is something that will pop the rays and will not turn my wood yellow or amber I want a clear look to see the natural ash color of the wood. Any insight as to what finish I could try will be greatly appiciated.
Thanks,
Phil

[Steve Schoene]

You want two things that are basically contradictory. Popping the flecks and rays is done by coloring the back ground wood to a greater degree than the flecks. Thus something like BLO does a good job of enhancing the figure. But, preserving the color of dry wood (it's not really more "natural" than the wet look of wood that has been oiled. To keep the dry look is best accomplished with a water clear waterborne acyrlic finish. But the flecks will be minimized not popped.

[John TenEyck]

Here's a good place to start: http://www.homesteadfinishingproduct..._rev1-2011.pdf I think that to pop the rays/flecks you will have to be williing to accept some shift from the natural wood color. Here are just a few of the color specimens I made when I built a Stickley style cabinet a year or so ago.

IMG_7137.JPG

And here's what the cabinet ended up looking like:

IMG_7224-001.JPG

John

[Phil Watson]

Thanks Steve & John, I think I will give more consideration to Sutherland Wells Tung oil and sealer. I am putting it on a Morris chair and ottoman.
Phil