Finishing Walnut Aquarium Stand

[Eric Bayes]

I'm working on an aquarium stand that I framed out of 2x4s and covered with solid walnut face panels. I'm stuck now determining the best way to finish the face panels. Because it is an aquarium stand, the final finish has to be pretty water-proof, or at least quite water-resistant. I also do not want to stain the walnut per se, but I would like to darken it a bit, a la RickT Harding's table in this thread:

http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthre...ghlight=walnut

I did read that that finish wasn't too waterproof, so it specifically might not work for me, but cosmetically, that's what I'd like to achieve. The final caveat is that I'd like it to be a bit of a satin finish.

After doing some research on the site, I've learned that BLO is a way to go, but will it darken the wood enough to reach my goal? I suppose that I could conceivably use transtint or similar to dye the wood prior to the topcoat, would this be a better alternative?

Also, for a topcoat, I'm looking at either poly, polycrylic, or even a spar boat finish. Am I on the right track here, or way off? As this is my first project, the notion of shellac application is a bit intimidating, so I'm not sure I want to go that route.

Any help you guys could provide would be immensely helpful. Thanks!

Eric

[John Finley]

Eric, I am in the middle of working on my first walnut project as well (bed). I have tried some different finished finishes on scrap. One of them was the BLO and Shellac. The BLO darkens up the wood VERY nicely. It looks very similar to the table the you linked to. As far as the top coat, I am not very knowledgable, but if you want something that is water resistant, I am not sure if shellac is what you are looking for. It is very east to apply though.

At any rate, practice on a good-sized piece of scrap first.

[Joe Chritz]

Walnut with lighten some with age. Nothing will stop it but it can be slowed down some.

The finish doesn't need to be any more water resistant than anything else, like a table or end stand. If you get that much water on it you have larger problems.

I would use a BLO/waterlox or BLO/Shellac/USL since that is what I use on 99% of any projects.

Test it on scraps and find something that works and go with it.

Joe

[Ruston Hughes]

I concur with what the others have said. BLO will darken the walnut. If I want to darken it even more I use amber shellac. Once you get the color you want you can use a poly topcoat for better water resistance. Just make sure to use dewaxed shellac to prevent adhesion problems with the poly. And as always, test the finishing schedule on a piece of scrap first.

[Eric Bayes]

Thanks for the responses guys. Is there any relative benefit to using poly over the waterlox, or vice versa? Also, will using the BLO affect the look/quality of the top coat at all?

[Bruce Page]

Eric, I shot my oak stand with several coats of plain old lacquer. It's been 10+ years of changing out water, cleaning, etc., of my 110 gal, fresh water tank and the finish is not showing any wear.

[Eric Bayes]

Unfortunately I don't have any spraying equipment, so I don't think that would work out so well for me, but thanks!

With the BLO/Oil Poly or BLO/Waterlox combinations, is there any need to use shellac or something after the BLO?