Walnut finishing gone wrong?

[Ben Brandow]

I've been working on a dark American walnut table for my kitchen and I am as green as green gets with how to finish pieces like this one. I got some advice from a friend to use the below technique and am now thinking I made a mistake and need some advice on how to fix it. I would appreciate any feedback on this as I would really like to salvage it without having to start over.

1. Sanded the table progressively using 60, 80, 150, 220 and 400 grit before starting finish application.

2. 2/1 mixture oil based polyurethane and Watco (natural) - 2 coats wiped on with cotton rag, sanded w/ 220 grit between.

3. 2 more coats oil based poly only. Lightly sanded w/ 220 and 400 grit between.

4. Here's where it started to get frustrating; 2 coats oil based spray poly sanded between w/ 400 grit - I found that when sanding these coats the paper gummed up really quick and don't feel like it was as uniform as I would have liked.

5. I was recommended to finish with a few coats of spray lacquer. I tested it on some scrap and it looked like it was going to finish off well, but with the size of the table (4'x4') it was very difficult to cover consistently (2 coats) resulting in unwanted streaking and bubbling.

I've left it at that and put the project on hold because I don't want to run the risk of making things worse. I would greatly appreciate any helpful tips anyone would have.

[Scott Holmes]

The solvents in lacquer will ruin the poly. e.g. blister and bubble it.

The poly & Watco mix made an oil/varnish blend a.k.a. "Danish Oil" Poly has a nasty habit of not sticking to itself or anything else. Getting poly to stick to an oil/varnish blend is going to be very disappointing.

What look and feel do you want when you are finished? Do you want an in-the wood look? High Gloss? Satin? etc.?

"Danish oil" finishes are marginal at protecting a kitchen table from water, soup, milk, tea, coffee, etc.

Give us a more info and you will get additional suggestions.

[Ben Brandow]

I was going for an attractive durable finish. My wife and I dont have kids.....yet.....so I don't see it getting above normal abuse, but don't want to have to keep it covered with a table cloth either. The wood has a lot of knots and attractive grains that give it a real rustic look, so I don't want to take away from it's natural beauty by applying layer after layer of additional finish.

How would the spray laquer I've already applied react to a slow speed buff?

I really appreciate you taking the time to help me with this.

[Pat Germain]

I'm not an expert, Ben. But I'd be glad to share my experience and throw a few tips I've learned your way.

I always get very good results with the General Finishes wipe-on varnish called "Arm-R-Seal". Yeah, it's basically varnish thinned-down a bit for wiping. But it works great right out of the can which is a big help for non-experts like me. It looks great, it's easy to use and it's plenty durable. I just wipe on a coat with a clean rag and let it dry. Then I knock it down with 0000 steel wool, vaccum and wipe it off with another rag. Then apply another coast. Three or more coats look great.

Personally, I think it's worth seeking out General Finishes producst. Big box stores don't typically carry it. I know all Woodcraft stores carry General Finishes products. Rockler probably does as well, but I'm not sure.

Whenever I have tried to use other finishing methods, the results were OK or just plain lousy. For example, every single product I've used with the name "Minwax" on it just plain sucked. Yeah, maybe it was just me. But after such lousy experiences with that brand, why should I bother? There are plenty of other brands.

Is your table made of actual walnut? Or, is it something else with a walnut stain? I don't know why. But almost everyone who first starts woodworking tries to use cheap wood, like pine, and stain it with Minwax Dark Walnut stain. It doesn't work. I suspect your table is actually made of walnut, which is a very good thing. But I'm just checking.

However, whatever your table is made of, I'm afraid the best step forward would be to completely sand off whatever you've done already. Sorry, but if you try just sanding partially, it will look lousy. There's no way to sand just partially through one layer of finish. You'll ultimately sand completely through parts of one layer and expose layers below and it shows.

You can sand the finish off with a lot of rough sandpaper. Once the finish is gone, sand it smooth again. You don't have to go down to 400 grit. Stopping at 220 will be fine. I sometimes stop at 180 and get good results.

Once the table is sanded again, go with a wipe-on varnish like Arm-R-Seal or a high quality oil-based varnish. Kee it simple! With the wipe-on stuff, all you need are a lot of clean rags to apply it; old T-Shirts work great. With other varnishes, buy a good quality, natural bristle brush like a Purdy. It's worth the extra dough. Soak the brush completely in mineral spirits before you use it. Then squeeze it out before dipping it into the varnish. It will make it work better and it will be easier to clean later.

Whatever finish you use, don't work directly from the can. Open the can, give it a very thorough stir, pour some into a cheap, disposable container then put the can lid back on. If you work from the can, you tend to get stuff in it and it dries out while you have the lid off. It really does make a difference. Can you guess how I know this?

Don't get discouraged, Ben. I know it's very disheartening to put so much into a project and see horrors develop before you eyes. But you can start the finishing process over and I'm confident you'll get great results next time if you just keep it simple. Good luck!

[Ben Brandow]

Thanks for the pointers Pat. I'm realizing now that I should have kept it simple from the start as you suggest. The table top is made from hand picked 4" wide x 3/4" thick solid walnut boards that I planed, ripped, jointed & biscuited together. Building things is my passion, but now I'm painfully discovering that I have a whole other world to get familiar with for my hard work to pay off at the end.

[Jim Terrill]

I'll second the wipe-on finish, I feel like the spray-ons always come out uneven for me or take a lot of time to get them nice and flat. Not a huge issue for small parts or things you don't see, but for table tops I think the wipe-on comes out better.