Finishing black walnut

[David cross]

Hi. I am making some mid century modern black walnut chairs and want to get the finish right. I want to maximize the contrast in the walnut. Can anybody suggest anything that would help? Thanks david cross

 

[Michael Kellough]

A lot of manufacturers touted their "oiled finish" (linseed oil).
But they usually followed up with a couple of thin coats of matte lacquer.

I don't know of a wood that changes as radically with the application of finish as walnut.
It's shocking. Get used to the mellow "wood" color and then wipe some oil on and BAM!

 

[Stone Message]

[attachimg=2]Hi David

Not long ago I finished a pedestal desk in American walnut. I had thought about French polishing it but, just in time, found out about Osmo PolyX Gloss (product code 3011). I can provide some video links if needed.

Peter

 

[Loren Woirhaye]

Well, the first thing you may want to consider is whether the wood you have is uniformly dark enough for your taste.  You can warm it up with shellac, but that will just make an amber shift and won't correct shade variations.

If you have shade variations in some parts from steaming, which leaches pigments from the walnut heartwood into the sapwood, then you may also have some parts with a dark purple color shift as well.  Ugh.  That's walnut these days.

You may want to consider staining to bring to wood to a more or less uniform brown.  I use asphaltum, which is roof patch dissolved in mineral spirits.  Certainly cheap enough to work out a test.

My last work using walnut I stained using the asphaltum, applying more coats where needed to even out the color.  Then I more or less french padded on oil-modified waterborne poly with delightful results.  Having done that, in the future I intend to add a barrier coat between the stain and the poly to make an amber shift to warm it up a bit.

 

[roblg3]

Peter....you have ruined me.  I'm never surprised at how amazing your work is anymore.  Yes, it still looks amazing!!, but i'm never surprised at just how amazing it looks [huh]

 

[Billedis]

I'm with Peter, I tried the Osmo poly x on a walnut bandsaw box and was really pleased.  Unfortunately I made it as a gift and did not take any pictures prior to giving it away.  Before I would use watco oil, however, it never made the grain pop like the Osmo polyx.

 

[Sertfas]

Danish Mid Century Furniture needs Danish Oil
I've used a can from the 60's I found at a garage sale that was sealed shut. It's the better than today's Watco etc, by a mile, but is now out of production.

I buy Watco now in natural, dark walnut and light walnut. I mix them to get just the right shade and it works beautifully. Keep applying coats, wiping it off, applying coats, wiping it off, then the last few coats us 1500-2200 wet sand paper to apply the oil instead. You can get it to a nice semi-gloss polish if you want and it drys hard as rock on solid walnut or similar woods.

As mentioned above though, hit it with a 10 sheen conversion varnish sprayed in a very light pass if you want extra durability.

Or if you want a stunning look instead of durability, finish with a wax of your choice and buff it out.

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[David cross]

Thanks for all the input. It's reassuring to hear from so many experts. I will post photos when I have finished the chair. Thanks again. David cross

 

[PreferrablyWood]

[attachimg=2]Hi David

Not long ago I finished a pedestal desk in American walnut. I had thought about French polishing it but, just in time, found out about Osmo PolyX Gloss (product code 3011). I can provide some video links if needed.

Peter

That desk is a thing of raidiant beauty...