Filling pores on smaller walnut turnings

[Dave Merzel]

I am turning a pepper mill from highly figured claro walnut. The pores seem huge. Over the last two days, I have read lots of threads here on finishing walnut, especially with regard to filling the pores. What a great wealth of knowledge on this site. It seems two techniques are favored: grain filler/paste and applying BLO and wet sanding so the slurry fills the pores. I am planning to finish with as light a shellac as I can find around here and then spray lacquer. What would work best when there are finer details like beads, fillets, and other "nooks and crannies" where scraping out filler would be hard or sanding in small spaces could change details? Any advice or other suggestions is greatly appreciated to get the grain to really "pop".

[Marty Eargle]

I've always used the slurry method when working with walnut like you're describing. If you're worried about sanding away detail work...perhaps you could try sanding other parts of the piece, and buff the slurry into the tight spots.

[Steve Vaughan]

For grain filling (I've not done walnut) I've added color and/or walnut-colored stain to the filler. Actually, on mahogany, I stained the piece first using walnut colored stain. In addition, I thin the filler to nearly a pancake syrup consistancy. Wipe it on and give it a few minutes (5 or so) to set up a bit and wipe it off. You definitely DO NOT want the filler to dry! Wiping it off while still wet gives you the chance to get it out of the nooks and crannies, maybe with a small diameter pointed stick with the rag over the end. Let that dry for a couple of days and repeat if needed. Before your finish, use #0000 steel wool to buff the piece really good. Be sure to give it a couple or three days to dry really good. Finish that with your shellac and the lacquer, and you're good to go.

[Marvin Hasenak]

Sometimes I use Frank Whiton's gunstock finishing method to fill the pores of walnut. It takes a lot of work and a long time to get the final finish, but it is worth it. http:// www. firearmsforum.com/firearms/article/3037