Finishing Burl

[Glen Blanchard]

I haven't really worked with burl due to its high price (I don't have access to it other than buying it) but I was given a very nice block by a good friend. I cut it up into four blanks and began turning one this afternoon. I'll complete it tomorrow and am trying to decide what type of finish to use. Not having any real experience with burls, I don't know which to use. The piece will be purely decorative so I am not really concerned about it being food safe. I'm leaning towards walnut oil, but am open to suggestions.

[John Keeton]

What kind of burl?

[Glen Blanchard]

Not sure exactly. Maybe maple? Walnut?

[Scott Hackler]

Maple would be light colored, walnut a brown to dark brown.

Either way, burl is great. I always use a oil (tung or walnut) as a first coat if I am not dying the burl. The oil will bring out the character in the burl. After the oil cures, it's the usual poly or lacquer for a high gloss or more and more oil finish coats to build up a uniform sheen. Both would be beal buffed but be carefull to not buff dark with White Diamond if the pours are open. Have fun, burl is beautiful and fun to turn.

[Glen Blanchard]

It's probably not dark enough to be walnut, but it's certainly way darker than, say, a maple board. Perhaps it's cherry.

I just bought a bottle of Mike Mahoney's walnut oil and was considering using that.

[John Keeton]

A pic might help - or not depending on whether it would show the true color of the wood.

Burl is usually darker in character than straight grain wood of the same species, so walnut would typically be very dark. Cherry would be reddish vs. maple. IMO, burls usually benefit from a gloss finish, and like Scott, I often will use an oil first, usually BLO, but even WOP will pop the figure some. On maple and sometimes cherry, a little dye can really make them pop, but the dye needs to be applied prior to the oil/finish. And, a little goes a long way. Burl usually will soak up dye and finish more so than plain wood.

i should add that if it is an exotic, then I can't help as they do react differently and I have no experience with exotic burls.

[Eric Gourieux]

Glen, I, like Scott and John, apply an oil to the finished burl and then work toward a gloss finish. After the oil, you may be able to go straight to WOP or lacquer. I will often apply several coats of Sealcoat shellac until I get a smooth surface, sand, and then apply WOP or lacquer. IMO, the final gloss coat material is easier to apply over the smooth shellac finish.

[Glen Blanchard]

Thanks for the responses, gentlemen. Any suggestions on how long I should wait between the walnut oil and the first coat of WOP?