Finishing Curly Walnut

[AlexSwansboro]

I recently picked up some beautiful curly walnut from Anchor Hardwoods in Wilmington. I am going to make a humidor for a wedding gift. I am trying to get everything together that I need to finish the humidor and I a want to pop the grain. A lot of people say that to pop the grain in maple use a dye and shellac. I can't really see much about how to do it for walnut. I assumed that a dye would work as well, however, I can't seem to find any dyes around me. I am considering using a dark walnut stain which I have on hand and sanding it down. I have also heard that lots of people use an orange glaze/stain to bring back the warmth in walnut.

If any of you have experiencing bring out the curl in walnut I would really appreciate some advice. This box has to be done before the end of the month.

I have not tried to finish any scrap I'm just looking for some suggestions at this point.

Thank you for your help.

 

[JeffH]

Don't use stain. You can pop the figuring of dark wood with oils and keep the natural beauty of the wood. Do a light sanding with 220, then a coat of boiled linseed oil, pure tung oil, and polyurethane (equal proportions). Let it dry for at least 2-3 days, then light sanding and repeat, this time wiping off the excess after a few minutes. Give it another 2-3 days, light sand and start building/sanding your clear coat of poly (or shellac). (Note: It will look worse before it looks better -- your clear coat will start to look like what you want.)

A gloss finish will help a lot in bringing out the figuring because it increases contrast, but it's more of a hassle to do, especially on an open grain like walnut.

 

[Jeremy Scuteri]

+1 on not using stain. Stain contains pigment which will sit on the surface and in the pores. It does more to cover the grain than enhance it.

 

[Bill Clemmons]

My preferred treatment for walnut is 4-5 coats of amber shellac. Try it on a sample piece. Since you have just over two weeks to complete this project, the short drying time of shellac may be your best bet.

 

[Jeff]

+2 for no stain or dye on such nice wood. Since this is for a humidor it doesn't need a lot of protection so I'd omit the poly part of any finish mix that you choose.

Sanding to 150-180 grit is sufficient before finishing. Before the final coat a light sanding with 320 g (with the grain) provides a nice surface for the final coat.

About 2-3 coats of BLO and mineral spirits (1:1 or 1:2) or a Danish oil is a good starting point-on a few cutoffs. Write down the finishing schedule too. A couple coats of Zinsser SealCoat should make everything look nice and "poppy". The final gloss can be knocked back a bit with 0000 steel wool or a Scotch-Brite pad. Final waxing is optional.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FZghF2GfCfw

Pics are mandatory as usual. Best wishes to the soon to be newlyweds too!

 

[chris_goris]

My preferred treatment for walnut is 4-5 coats of amber shellac. Try it on a sample piece. Since you have just over two weeks to complete this project, the short drying time of shellac may be your best bet.

+2 on the amber shellac!!! try it, youll be amazed at the brilliance and depth it creates!!

 

[CrealBilly]

My opinion - STAIN is a bad 5 letter wood for ANY wood. Stain is one instance where they don't lie to you - it does exactly what they say it does "Wikipedia - A stain is a discoloration that can be clearly distinguished from the surface, material, or medium it is found upon." - think about it...

 

[SubGuy]

Use Oil, no stain!

I would recommend Waterlox (Tung Oil). I love the look of it on Walnut I have used before.

:gar-Bi

 

[striker]

I doubt you'll find much support for the use of stain on much of anything as it generally obscures the grain on any wood. On lighter colored woods like maple or birch dyes accentuate the grain nicely. I think the accepted practice with walnut is to use amber shellac as stated and forego any use of dyes. If you want to go the distance, check into french polishing. French polishing is a amazing finish but requires a crazy amount of effort.

I've gotten shellac from shellacfinishes.com. Looks like NC WWkers get a discount from him too. Quite a bit of info on his site as well.

 

[kooshball]

Not sure if it has been mentioned yet but please don't use stain!

My finish of choice for walnut is Pratt and lambert no. 38 gloss varnish thinned with mineral spirits for wiping. The key is to wet sand with 600 grit before the final two coats and it will turn out smooth beyond belief and with miles of depth.

 

[Claus]

Not sure how well this picture will come across. This a figured walnut table top finished with about 3 coats of the traditional 3 part 'BLO/Poly/mineral spirits' mix - no stain, topped with a coat of minwax paste wax. I'm not really bright enough to work with anything much more complex than that, but this works for me, your mileage may vary.

-- Claus

 

[JeffH]

Not that I'm totally averse to stains or dyes -- just that there are times/places they work and other times/places they don't. I wouldn't use them on a dark-toned wood like walnut. However, here's a quilted maple with a three-part color process that does bring out the figuring dramatically (using water-based dyes, a barrier coat of sanding sealer, and oil-based varnish).

 

[Jeremy Scuteri]

Not that I'm totally averse to stains or dyes -- just that there are times/places they work and other times/places they don't. I wouldn't use them on a dark-toned wood like walnut. However, here's a quilted maple with a three-part color process that does bring out the figuring dramatically (using water-based dyes, a barrier coat of sanding sealer, and oil-based varnish).

View attachment 10815

Awesome. Can you provide some more details on what you did here for finishing?

 

[JeffH]

Sure. This was sanded with 220 grit, then given a generous coating of black analine dye. Sanded back when dry so that the black remained only in where it penetrated deeper due to grain direction in the figuring.

Then an overall wash of a relatively light color (blended from two dyes), and when that was dry a much darker blend was feathered in at the top and bottom to create the fade effects. I like the water-based products because they're pretty easy to blend during application -- I don't use any spray gear.

Next, 2 to 3 coats of barrier material -- in this case, I think it was sanding sealer -- thick enough that there's not too much chance of a light sanding removing color. The purpose of the barrier is to let you use an oil-based clear coat over the water-based dye; dewaxed shellac would also make a good barrier coat. Sand that at 320 to level and apply thin coats of gloss varnish (polyurethane in this case) with progressive wet-sanding up to 2000 grit. Buff, polish and it's done.

But, like I said, I wouldn't do this with walnut.

 

[Mike Wilkins]

Last time I used some figured Walnut in a project, the following method was used to bring out the figure without dye or stain:
1. Sand to 220
2. Numerous coats of an oil finish; I used Minwax Antique Oil Finish.
3. Using wet/dry sandpaper, I applied several coats of this oil finish, working my way up the grits (320, 400, 600). This step will create a slurry of oil and fine sawdust, that will
fill in any low spots/pores, making for a smooth, glassy surface.
4. After this dries and cures, sit back and enjoy your labor, because it will look awesome.

 

[Willemjm]

I keep things as simple as possible.

Lacquer sanding sealer coat, with a very slight tint of Transtint Honey Amber, sprayed. It really brings out the Walnut color depth.
1/2 hour to dry and sand very lightly with 320 grit paper.
Three clear lacquer coats, sprayed, 15 minutes apart.
If a dust nib found its way into the finish, a very light rub with 1500 3M automotive compound.

1 1/2 hours from start to finish.

 

[Tarhead]

Similar to Willem's and Jeff's this is my schedule on Walnut:


After sanding up to 150g fill the grain with a dark filler. Sand up 320, reapply filler and sand until everything is level. Dye the whole surface with a bright yellow or orange dye. This will neutralize the sapwood and pops the grain later in the process. I use the Transtint water base dye. Dry for a few hours and sand gently w/320 leaving the dye in the curl. I don't use a dark dye here but do on light curly Maple. Follow with a coat of amber shellac and smooth w/0000 steel wool or grey scrub pad. Apply a generous amount of a dark brown gel stain/glaze and immediately wipe off starting in the center before it dries. Dry overnight. Top coat with Waterlox/gel varnish/whatever you want. Practice this on scrap.