Use water base poly or lacquer ,that should let you keep the cabinets light.

 

That's what I was thinking - a few coats of satin-sheen polycrylic. Anything I can use as a base coat to pop the grain more, without yellowing? Maybe a clear shellac sealer?

 

Dan
Usually oils pop the grain better than water base,something like General Finishes Arm-R-Seal.

 

Those are looking great, Dan. I would give it a try with just poly and see what it looks like first. I have been pleased with the look of either Varthane or General Finishes water based poly directly on maple. It would be interesting to see a comparison if you put a coat of shellac on first.

 

I recommend you try a test with amber shellac and
waterborne poly on top. I don't think the clear shellac
is likely to pop the grain as nicely.

 

Thanks everyone - good suggestions! I'll try a few different tests and see what turns out. I did coat a test piece with just water-based poly and it turned out nice enough. I'd be ok with that alone unless I can find something to help bring out the grain. I used the basic Minwax polycrylic, so perhaps I'll pick up a small can of Varathane or GF to see if they provide better results.

Admittedly I'm just starting to learn about finishes beyond stain/poly. Jim, can I use an Arm-R-Seal under water-based poly? Will Arm-R-Seal yellow the wood? I really like how the whiteness in the maple goes with our blue walls, and keeping the wood white is also a big part of my defense against my wife's preference for painting. (My other defense is that we can always paint over a clear finish, but we can't easily backtrack from paint.)

Paul - thanks for the drywall referral! Albert did a good job at a reasonable price, and he was great to work with. I'll be keeping him in mind for future drywall needs (but fingers crossed, I won't have any). At some point it would be cool to meet IRL - I always enjoy finding other local woodworkers in the Twin Cities.

 

Yes Dan you can use Arm-R-Seal under under Polcrylics but you really won't need to, Arm-R-Seal is a strong durable finish on it's own. Arm-R-Seal will darken your maple more than Polcylics will that's part of how it pops the grain.