maple

If your going with a natural finish then tung oil is a good option. You could also use boiled linseed oil (blo). Lightly sanding between coats to build up a nice finish.

If you’re going to darken the wood, don’t use stain (minwax etc…), this will not pop the grain. Use a water based dye. Dye will pop the grain. You can then use a lacquer as a top coat (spray cans work great.) You can then use multiple coats to build a nice finish that really shows off the grain.

Shellac will pop curly maple really well.

Shipwright, your work is just incredible!

Can’t argue with Shipwright….his level of craftsmanship is bar none….
Nicky’s recommendation of dye and not stain is right on. Here’s a link from The Wood Whisperer that may help you. The video addresses the use of both shellac and dye….Good luck !
http://www.thewoodwhisperer.com/videos/pop-goes-the-maple/

Here’s an interesting combination of dye, shellac and curly maple.
( I love curly maple.)

Shipwright…your marquetry is amazing !

You can be in the drivers seat with a dye. The possibilities are limited by your imagination. A fine example of that is seen above by Shipwright depicting the ocean.
In no way is this an apples to apples comparison to the level of craftsmanship seen above. I am an amateur woodworker and find that dyes are relatively easy to use to create the effect you want. I used a slightly diluted concentration of dye and distilled water to fill in and pop the curl in this project. Top coated with several coats of lacquer, then later rubbed out to a high gloss.

Very nice box kdc. Good job on the curved lid. …. and of course nice dye job.
What dyes are you using? I use colorFX from woodessence.com.

Thank you shipwright. I use Transtint Liquid Dyes. On this project I used their Vintage Maple on the curly. The walnut sides I used Behlen Dark Walnut Lacquer Toner sparingly to even out the color variations. Then everything was top coated with several coats Behlen Lacquer in high gloss. After over a week of curing I rubbed out the finish from 600 to 2000 grit followed by Maguire’s rubbing compound and polishing compound

thank you for your replies. the work is out of this world