Finishing Machiche to retain light areas

[Dan Mitchell]

I made a frame for a poster out of some Machiche I resawed ~.25" thick & glued over Ash. Sounds like an odd combo, but it really goes well with the art it will frame. I especially like the cream colored grain pattern in the Machiche, only trouble is, every finish I've tried darkens these areas considerably. I've tested tung oil, spray on Poly, spray on shellac, and Arm-R-Seal urethane top coat, they all pretty much darken the light areas to oblivion. I also tried a coat of Johnson's paste wax on the bare sanded wood, it darkened the light areas the least. Would paste wax be a durable enough finish long-term for this application, or is there something else I might try?

Here's a pic:

[Todd Hoppe]

How about a clear spray on lacquer?

[glenn bradley]

Water based poly (acrylic?) is often touted as the clearest topcoat. I don't know if the moisture content would darken the light areas permanently or not. For a few bucks at the BORG, it might be worth a try(?).

[Dan Mitchell]

I have a can of "Varathane" water based polyurethane, I'll try it next. Thanks for the tips.

Dan