tung oil over stain?

[Dave Cohen]

I'm building a small media center out of walnut and walnut plywood. the top is a lighter walnut, the drawer fronts and doors will be out of black walnut. The walnut plywood is greenish/greyish in comparison to the other two woods.

If I stain to match things up, do you think it would be OK to oil over everything including the stained pieces?

[Jim Becker]

It really depends upon what kind of "stain" you use. Many "stains" have a varnish component as a binder that effectively seals the wood and that will disallow your oil to penetrate properly. This assumes that the "tung oil" you refer to really is Tung Oil and not "Tung Oil Finish", which invariably is a wiping varnish of some sort and rarely has any real tung oil init. So if you are using real tung oil (or BLO) over your coloration agent, that agent needs to be something that doesn't seal the wood.

I routinely put BLO over water soluble dyes with no issues.

[Dave Cohen]

Thanks good answer

Any suggestions on a dye that emulates black walnut?

[Steve Schoene]

Take a look at the variety of hues available from W. D. Lockwood. Available from Tools for Working Wood, and from Woodworkers Supply (under their house label of J.E.Moser)

Another dye to think about when using walnut is to start with a amber or yellow dye, in a very light concentration. Gives much more of the antique walnut look and enlivens the dull look of steamed walnut.