Finish for Walnut

[Clint Schlosser]

Can some Creeker's recommend finishes that work well with walnut. I am building a buffet server for our kitchen. The wood is air dried from my Grandfather's Property in Pennsylvania. There are some really dramatic contrasts within the wood compared to some walnut I have seen.

I am considering using mirror coat for the top but I am not set yet. I have plenty of stock to experiment with.

[Paul Murphy]

For what you are wanting, a good varnish might deliver, and if you are wanting to rub it out to a mirror surface you might consider a paste pore filler. I have used and like this varnish on walnut:
http://www.woodcraft.com/Product/200...ish-Quart.aspx

In this post a shellac finish for walnut is detailed:
http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showpost...77&postcount=7

[Neal Clayton]

walnut really likes garnet shellac, imo.

[Jim Becker]

walnut really likes garnet shellac, imo.

Yea, air dried walnut warms up really nicely with shellac; either orange or garnet. If I happen to want things darker at first, I'll oil it. If I want it to get to that wonderful honey brown that walnut lightens up to over time faster, I'll just use the shellac and then a top coat, if necessary, depending on what I'm building. That would usually be EM6000.

[Mark Duksta]

Another vote here for garnet shellac.

This lamp was finished with oil, garnet shellac and poly.

http://www.sawmillcreek.org/attachme...4&d=1287248299

Mark

[Prashun Patel]

I vote for Waterlox. It has a darker color than other varnishes which really works well with walnut. It's also easy to apply as a wipe on or brush on finish, and it's much more durable than shellac. It looks great as an in-the-wood finish, whereby you wipe it on, let it soak, then buff it off, or as a built-up finish that you want to look like glass.

It's worth every penny.

[Keith Harrell]

How many coats of waterlox do you apply? So you know if it can be applied on top of a tung oil, linseed and poly finish(Sam Maloof) for more protection.

[Steve Schoene]

Yes it can be applied on top of the Maloof finish you describe, at least as long as you didn't leave the oil/varnish mix in a film on the surface, and if you have given it plenty of time to cure before applying the Waterlox.

The number of coats of Waterlox depends mostly on what look you are after, and of course which of the three Waterlox flavors you are using. The semi-gloss Sealer/Original will require more coats when wiped on. But the Gloss has a much higher solids content and will require fewer coats when brushed on. The Satin has intermediate solids content.

[Chris Padilla]

Is the walnut more reddish or more chocolate colored? If you have some variety, I strongly suggest using an NGR dye (non-grain raising dye). I used some stuff from Behlen to blend my reddish and chocolate to get it all chocolate.

After that was plain old clear shellac.

But as a buffet table, you'll likely want a tougher finish as has already be suggested here.

[Neal Clayton]

How many coats of waterlox do you apply? So you know if it can be applied on top of a tung oil, linseed and poly finish(Sam Maloof) for more protection.

it depends.

if you want the original semi-gloss or a high gloss, it levels better if you thin it, but when you thin it you'll need more coats of course.

if you want satin, you can brush the satin straight out of the can without any thinner and have it come out pretty even to the eye.

another thing, if you want you can cheat a bit to save some money with orange/red shellacs and waterlox. they're very similar in color. that's what i do on floors, i use shellac til i get the color i want, then top the shellac with waterlox.

the end result is pretty similar, but less 80 dollar varnish and more 20 dollar shellac. you get that nice shellac depth with a more durable coat on top of it.

countertop i did recently that way, which is also walnut...

http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showpost.php?p=1542462