Advice on Staining Walnut

[davejones]

I am looking for advice on staining walnut. I am working on a small cabinet that is made of walnut and oak and I would like the walnut to be fairly dark to contrast the oak which I plan to finish with a clear coat.

What types of stains work best with Walnut?

Any advice is appreciated. Oh yeah, pictures would be awesome too! :icon_thum


Thanks,
Dave

 

[WoodWrangler]

Try the "Dark Walnut" Danish Oil ... it will bring out the beauty in the Walnut (thus the oil) and will darken it up a good bit.

 

[Joe Scharle]

Topcoat: oil or water?
Are you dealing with sapwood or just want to darken winter growth?
Do you have some representative scrap to test on?

 

[davejones]

The Danish oil looks interesting. Seems to be easy to apply. Does it work well with a topcoat such as wipe-on poly, or Arm-r-Seal?


Most likely oil based on the topcoat. No sapwood to worry about, but the color seems a bit "washed out" which is why I want to darken it a bit. I do have some scrap to test on, but I didn't want to have to buy several different products just to test on scrap if necessary (my current stash of finishing supplies is pretty limited).

 

[Mike Davis]

I used to mix up a stain with soft roofing tar and mineral spirits, you can make it as light or dark as you like.

I stay away from stains now, prefer to see the natural color of the wood.

 

[Joe Scharle]

The Danish oil looks interesting. Seems to be easy to apply. Does it work well with a topcoat such as wipe-on poly, or Arm-r-Seal?


Most likely oil based on the topcoat. No sapwood to worry about, but the color seems a bit "washed out" which is why I want to darken it a bit. I do have some scrap to test on, but I didn't want to have to buy several different products just to test on scrap if necessary (my current stash of finishing supplies is pretty limited).

CAVEAT: This from a guy with one year of experience, repeated 50 times!
I like Varathane Dark Walnut Gel. I can get almost black with 3 coats and I top with General Varnish. All varnish can be wiping varnish if thinned with mineral spirits, and that's what I do. I'd rather wipe on 4 coats than sand out one run!
But someone like Howard Acheson is your best finishing authority.

 

[Howard Acheson]

>> but the color seems a bit "washed out" which is why I want to darken it a bit.

A washed out look to walnut is generally an indication that steam was used during the kiln drying. The steam is used to even out the color in the wood and to add color to sapwood.

Many will apply a light coat of BLO and wipe it off almost immediately. Then, after letting the BLO fully dry for 3-4 days, apply a coat of amber shellac. Lightly sand the shellac and then apply your clear coats. The BLO and the shellac add back a good portion of the washed out color.

If you plan to use poly as a final coat, you must use a dewaxed shellac. Of course, it is much to be preferred to us a non-poly varnish on a nice wood like walnut. You will end up with a clearer finish.

As always, test out your finishing plans on some scrap from your project. Never let your project be your learning experience.

 

[WoodWrangler]

As already mentioned, kiln dried walnut is usually fairly "washed out". However, my rocking chair was made with air dried and as you can see in the first image below it too was fairly washed out. However, after a coat of the "Dark Walnut" (or was it "Black Walnut"?) Danish Oil, it was dark and looking great. Just create that barrier coat with Shellac, and I think just about anything can be put on top of it.

 

[davejones]

Jeremy,
The rocker looks great! That is basically the look I am going for. I may have to go the Danish Oil route.


Howard,
Thanks for the great advice. You mentioned using a non-poly varnish for a clearer finish. Can you help this newbe out and suggest some examples of non-poly varnish? embaresse)


Joe,
I have 1yr experience in woodworking too, but have yet to repeat it so no caveat needed. I always recognize your advice on here as being very sound. :thumbs_up I'm not sure I want it to be black, what type of results do you see with just 1 or 2 coats of the gel stain?


Thanks again!

 

[CrealBilly]

Advice on Staining Walnut - DON'T

 

[DaveO]

I'll second (or third) the Watco Dark Walnut Danish Oil. I built a table out of both steamed Walnut and un-steamed and the contrast was stark. I wiped on a single application of the Watco, and then top coated with thinned gloss Polyurethane. The colors evened out very nicely and the finish was simple to apply -

Normally I would agree with Jeff on not staining (coloring) but in this case I had to even out the wood color. You might just try on some samples a little BLO, you might be surprised on how much color it adds/enhances.
Dave

 

[Gofor]

Before you "stain" anything (I'm with Jeff on this, especially Walnut), at least wipe the surface with some mineral spirits to get an idea of what it will look like after finish.

Here are a couple of pics of some air-dried before and after finishing with Behlens table top finish (non- poly):






Go

 

[cpowell]

Walnut is open grained. Japan colors pigment stain is a good choice. Burnt umber is a great base color choice on walnut.

Descriptions abound on the web. here's one...http://www.woodcourse.com/articles/oil_stain.htm

Watco is probably just doing the mixing for you and charging accordingly. You can make your own for a fraction of the cost. Most sites will authoritatively tell you to blend japan colors pigment + BLO + mineral spirits (or turpentine). Japan colors contains colors.

You can mix the stain without BLO - ie, pigment + MS, apply, wipe off excess, allow to dry overnight.

Spray sealer or a heavy lacquer seal coat then finish with compatible lacquer top coat. I have also finished with wipe on poly/arm-r-seal. You will need to apply a wet coat and avoid heavy handed application that can wipe off the stain. It sounds much more intimidating than it is.

Here's a before/after...

Before (bare)

After... (stain + Arm-r-seal wiped on)

Chuck