A little background: I've only been turning now for about a year, though I've been doing woodworking since I was a teen. So I've got some experience in finishing, though I'd never say it was my strongest suit. And a confession, I'm also lazy when it comes to sanding/finishing. So I find great appeal in being able to sand and finish directly on the lathe, where the machine is doing alot of the work. And I've been very happy with the results when doing that! I've tried all of the following with pretty good results:
- mineral oil & beeswax
- General's WTF
- Mylands friction polish
- and my favorite, EEE UltraShine followed by Shellawax cream (though it's pretty shiny).
These are all pretty straightforward and don't require multiple steps of different treatments. Here's an example of the EEE/Shellawax finish that I was pleased with:
20150905_164833.jpg
However, some projects just don't lend themselves to being finished on the lathe, and that's where I seem to be running into trouble. It seems like A.) there's much more work involved, and B.) the results aren't as good. One bowl was maple and I finished it simply with walnut oil. That one took on a bit of a yellow hue, and it seemed to not take evenly. Another one was walnut. I finished this one with amber shellac, but it's looking quite blotchy (it also looks a little cloudy at the moment, as it's been sanded for another coat)...
20150923_183822.jpg
My feeling is that perhaps I need to be thinking more of sealing the wood first, to avoid uneven or blotchy results... would that be accurate? Is that more of a concern when finishing off the lathe? If so, what's a good solution? I've read suggestions of BLO, Sanding Sealer, or Shellac as a sealer - are the these the best options? Any pluses or minuses to each? And as a final step is buffing something that lots of folks do (ie Beal buff)? I've not tried that.
I've done lots of reading, but there are so many different approaches, and many seem to involve 4 or 5 of 6 different steps to achieve good results. What I'm really looking for is a straighforward theory/approach that's not super complicated, and that doesn't seem to require a new finish every time! Perhaps I'm just dreaming
And as a final, more pragmatic question, I have a pedestal bowl that I just finished sanding made out of maple, see the picture below. How would y'all finish it, if you were looking to bring out the grain and perhaps darken/warm it up a little? After the last couple of disappointments, I'm getting gunshy.
20150923_183745.jpg
Sorry for the lengthy post and all the questions. For anyone who was willing to read through the whole thing, thank you!