finish for Walnut bed

[Zahid Naqvi]

I have read some posts about preferred finishes for Walnut but I thought I'd post a RFC anyway.
I am in the process of making a bed out of walnut, the headboard panel is olive ash veneer on plywood, everything else is Walnut. The color is quite consistent in that there is no sapwood on the show faces.

Questions.

1. Shellac seems to be quite popular and I have it as well, how many coats do I need and what cut.
2. I do like the look of oil based finishes, i.e. something along the lines of Danish oil. But I am open to all possibilities.
3. Don't have a spray gun, so I am limited to pads or brushes.
4. Someone suggested using a walnut gel stain on walnut, put that just doesn't sound right to me. The wood itself is quite dark and I realize that it might lighten with time but why color a wood that has such vibrant natural tones.

[Steve Schoene]

Walnut can be finished in a great variety of ways. Oil/varnish mixes applied as an "in-the-wood" finish look particularly good on walnut and enrich the color considerably. Surface preparation is important since there is no film to hide any scratches or stray sanding marks. Sand to about 320 so you can really see defects, and wet sand the oil/varnish into the wood with about 400 grit. No film at all should build on the surface.

Shellac can be used in a great many ways. It can be applied as a very thin film--probably built from no more than 3-4 applications of 1 1/2 lb. cut. This leaves the pores distinct but adds considerable sheen.

Shellac can be used in fully filled films where the pores are made flush. This can be achieved in several ways. Classic French polish leaves a high gloss film that appears to have no thickness, but is a mile deep. On a bed there is A LOT of surface on head boards so you will build some significant strength in hand, arm, and shoulders.

Shellac can also be applied with a great many coats, with periodic sanding to just the point of cutting through the finish. Ultimately, this will fill the pores with shellac and give a very attractive finish. You may have applied 50 coats but end up with a film no thicker on the surface than a few coats. Use 2 lb. cut shellac for this. Rub out to what ever sheen you want.

Alternatively, you can seal the walnut with one coat of 2 lb. cut shellac and then apply pore filler. The pore filler should be tinted to give the desired look. With walnut either darker than the surrounding surface or lighter can work depending on what you like. After the pore filler, a fill finish must be used. Shellac works fine for this. While there is some substantial waiting involved for oil based pore filler to be well cured, this method requires less work than either of the other full filled shellac based finishes. This too can be rubbed to any sheen you want.

[Eric Sabo]

On walnut I like to use an oil (BLO, BLO based oil finish) followed by a french polish of 1.5lb cut amber (or garnet) shellac. Being as though its a bed, I'd probably not do the french polish but instead, flow on (with a brush) a 1.5lb cut of amber or garnet shellac. Some people rub it with #0000 steel wool between coats to dull and soften the sheen. Say it makes it "touchable".

Oil really makes the grain stand out and can make figure appear out of nowhere, Shellac warms the tones... good balance.

[Zahid Naqvi]

Considering this is a bed french polishing is out of question, too much surface area as you guys mention. I do like the look of oil on almost all dark and figured woods. Not a big fan of thick films, but I would like to put some protective coating on the headboard panel (ash burl veneered on a plywood substrate). I think I will have to choose two different finishes, one for the headboard panel and one for the bed frame.

Steve thanks for you detailed reply.

[glenn bradley]

My favorite finish on walnut is as pale of an oil as I can get. If you want it sealed shellac is good as well. Four coats of 2 lb. cut on the shellac for me. Oil, I go by color but at least two coats. As always . . . test on scrap, test on scrap.

[Suanne Lippman]

I would use BLO and then poly.

[John Mihich]

I use three different finishes on walnut: lacquer - larger items that I can spray, Shellac - same thing, wipe on oil poly - I use this on items that are smallish or have all sorts of surfaces. Using wipe on is very easy and it does look nice when finished.

[Steve Schoene]

If a more protective finish than shellac is desired, though shellac will generally be fully ample for a bed, I would recommend a wipe on traditional resin varnish. Waterlox wipe on varnishes, in three sheens, comes packaged for wiping, though the gloss probably needs a bit more thinning. If you don't like Waterlox, then it can easily be mixed by thinning any good varnish. Behlen's Rockhard is good for walnut. No reason to use polyurethane varnishes on furniture, let alone a bed. The single part polyurethane varnishes only significant plus is resistance to heavy abrasion. That's right for floors, not needed for furniture.

[Christof Grohs]

How would you folks finish if you were trying to get a very natural looking walnut finish. By this I mean a contemporary non-oiled look, almost raw wood looking yet surface protected well enough for a bed?

[Jim Becker]

Oil and then shellac would be my choice for this kind of project. Rich look and very repairable. I'd never put polyurethane on a bed or most furniture. If I feel a more substantial film finish is required, I'll use water borne acrylic (after the de-waxed shellac) or an alkyd (example: Pratt & Lambert #38) or phenolic (example: Waterlox) varnish. Relative to that, I just use Target Coating's new Hybrivar water borne alkyd varnish on my bath vanities and judging by the results on the cherry, I believe it would also look mighty fine on walnut, too.
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Chris, unless "whips and chains" are truly a bedroom decorative choice , there is really no need to put any kind of fancy finish on a bed. A danish oil (varnish-oil mixture) will work well and give you the look you desire. Do remember that air-dried/unsteamed walnut has a richer color than kiln dried/steamed walnut, so your finishing regimen may be a little different for the latter to restore the color if you prefer it.

[Zahid Naqvi]

This is precisely why finishing gets my head spinning. There are families of chemicals and then their are vendor names, and it all gets mixed up in my brain. Let's keep it simple, I will use an oil as a first coat, let it sit for maybe a week or so, and then start putting dewaxed shellac. How's that

[Tim Sproul]

I will use an oil as a first coat, let it sit for maybe a week or so, and then start putting dewaxed shellac. How's that

I like that. I'd use a light shellac (blonde, super blonde or platinum) if you want the walnut to be a medium brown after a year or few and go darker on the shellac if you want a darker brown. I don't know if you've finished black walnut before. If you oil it, it will look darker than Hades but don't fret. Walnut really fades a lot after a year or few...especially if exposed to direct sunlight.

[Matt P]

Someone else probably mentioned this, but test the finish on a piece of scrap first. I've found that oil darkens walnut too much for my tastes.. I go straight to the shellac.