how to make poplar look like walnut

[Adam Augustine]

Does, anyone have a good recipe to make poplar look like dark walnut. Just so you know I will be using a wiping varnish after I get the color right.

[Matt Day]

Veneer the poplar with walnut? 😉.

Just kidding. I don't have much experience coloring wood to look like another, just wanted to add a smart aleck comment.

[Jim Becker]

Honestly, you really cannot make poplar look like walnut. It's not about color...you can approximate that using dyes and other finishing elements. But poplar and walnut have completely different pore and grain structures; the former is a closed/close pore structure like cherry and maple exhibit and the latter has an open pore structure and grain like ash and other "nut" trees.

One other thing....walnut gets lighter with age, unlike most woods, so if you're trying to match an existing piece, be prepared for that match not to match forever.

You are most likely going to need to work with dye first followed by toners to get your wood "dark enough" to approximate the shade. Work it out on scrap from the same wood your project will be made from/was made from...and remember that your intermediate and tops coats will affect the color, too. Be sure to do all the steps on your test pieces through at least the first top coat.

[Rick Mosher]

+1 on what Jim said above but if you just want a natural walnut color it is hard to beat walnut crystals. WD Lockwood #5081 is a water based version and they are available from many other sources.

[John TenEyck]

Well, I'll give you more encouraging advise. One of my old woodworking friends calls poplar the poor man's walnut. It can be made to look just like walnut, and also cherry. It's true that poplar and walnut have different pore structures, but their grain patterns are very similar, especially when plain sawn. Poplar takes oil based stains very well. We had a conference room where I used to work that was all poplar stained and finished to look just like walnut. No one knew otherwise. Get some oil based walnut stain, sand some specimens, and give it a go. After the stain has dried well, your wiping varnish can go right over it. Of course stained wood won't have the clarity of natural walnut, but it will look like much of the commercially finished walnut you see.

I think you'll be pleased.

John

[Prashun Patel]

If you are 'simply' going for an approximate color match, then I'll offer this:

Dyes may give you better control than an oil based pigment stain. It takes a little more effort, but you can really dial in. WD Lockwood sells a sampler kit of 5 powder dye concentrates. You can pick the 5 that are near to your desired target, and then mix and match them.

In fact, even if you go with a pigment stain, get a couple and don't be afraid to mix and match.

[lowell holmes]

You might google it. I've seen recipe's before.

I made a pencil post bed for one of my daughters using poplar. I ended up sealing it, stained it, and then put a glaze on it.
I made the bed 10 or 12 years back and she still uses it. It does look like furniture. I made walnut shaker style tables that sit beside it and none of it looks out of place. I use Deft danish oil on my pieces. It has urethane in it and really makes a nice surface.

[Raymond Fries]

When I made my fireplace surround in this thread http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthre...e-Finally-Done, I used Charles Neils blotch control before staining. I had excellent results matching my existing poplar woodwork which was stained darker like walnut and there was no blotching on the poplar. The maple corbels also matched.

Good Luck with your project.