The appearance is only slightly different – but different nevertheless. 2.) The piece on the left is an example. In Techniques. Hand sanding with the grain is the best way to massage this hardwood into bringing out its beautiful grain, working with progressively finer grits of sandpaper as you go. The clear oil-base finish will pop the color, figure, and grain in the wood pretty good and once it dries completely, you can topcoat it with the waterborne finish without any problems. Try it on scraps of both woods before you start finishing the whole piece. I also have an inexpensive gravity fed pot gun for applying WB SNW stains. 6.) You are using a spray and wipe stain, *and* a dye? I was most interested in your suggestion as it seemed very doable for this project. It's easy to apply and is very water protective. I had always thought you weren't supposed to sand raw wood finer than about 180 grit when staining. For additional color and depth, add 1/2 - 1 ounce of the dye to your second coat of finish and spray that evenly over the first coat after it's sanded smooth. 8.) 1.) I'm very ignorant of stains and dyes, as we try to encourage people to choose a wood that is naturally a color they like (or enhanced with glazes), hence using black walnut instead of a dark stained oak or painted cabinets. The local Sherwin-Williams store suggested pre-treating with their neutral stain base, untinted. It takes a lot more sanding than any other wood. Spray final topcoat. Hold the gun 8 inches from the walnut at a 30-degree angle. As I understood the job, it required slicing up 10/4 walnut lumber into a fairly complex geometry, sanding them mirror smooth and then routing a recess for the brass plaque. 9.) I use a lot of walnut in my woodworking and I have problems getting all of the sanding marks out of it. I've never done black walnut, and the WB finish doesn't really enhance grain the way solvent does, so for this special project, I'd like to know if there is something I can use to enrich the wood and help it pop. I'm getting the materials together to try Paul's suggestion of pre-treating with diluted oil-based poly. Varying a drop as you add the dye to the shellac is not going to create a significant difference in the final look of the finish, but try to keep each batch consistent. The money spent on the black walnut is offset by what I'd charge them for staining. Overview Information Black walnut is a tree. I am preparing a sample door in black walnut with a veneer center panel. We had some older scraps around from another source that has a warmer brown tone, both on the finished and unfinished sides. 0. I have a couple of questions after reading your schedule. You can get a water-reducible dye that's lightfast (resists fading) and apply it by spray and wipe or by hand using a wetted cloth. You could always use lacquer on the base if you want a completely clear finish on it. So could you tell a little bit about why you take the steps you do in your schedule? Posted October 2, 2008. Discussion Starter • #1 • Oct 20, 2016. Products used: Im about to begin a project using some beautiful american black walnut i purchased. Dust Collection, Safety and Plant Operation, Job Opportunities and Woodworking Services, A detailed discussion on staining kiln-dried Walnut. I'm not adverse to taking a solvent step to start, if it will enhance the end product. Contributor B, I want to compliment you on the beautiful photos you posted! 1 coat of spray dye stain to help pop figure and get even color. Buy red, blue, yellow and black water-soluble dye powder and custom mix a sapwood. Fuhr 165 spray wipe stain November 14, 2009. Since the ash base is dyed black and glazed with a gray stain for a unique look, I put that in a separate tutorial. 5.) Sounds like the walnut you have is steam dried, which washes out a lot of the color (like the piece on the right in the picture below). Here is mahogany after topcoats. 4.) Additional info if needed: I'm using a Kremlin air-assisted airless with #6 tip. For this particular project, im going for a somewhat modern look, dark, smooth and glossy. Forum Responses I like to use the fast dry poly from the local home center because it's cheap and really does dry fast. From Paul Snyder, forum technical advisor: We may receive a commission when you use our affiliate links. This finish gives walnut a dark yet warm color, and if you choose to apply it by wet-sanding, this too can fill the grain as above. Too fine of sanding was supposed to close off the grain and cause the stain to pool on top instead of penetrating. Spray and wipe stain. With all large projects, you want your steps and techniques to be easy and repeatable over large and numerous surfaces. Waterlox original sealer/finish usually gives a very nice finish to walnut. Home / Techniques / Finishing Walnut. Tung oil varnish can be used by itself, and then buffed to a semi-gloss or satin sheen with paste wax after 3 or 4 coats. This will be my first time working with it, so I thought id ask you guys for any tips or advise in regards to sanding/finishing. Walnut can have some amazing grain patterns that, while quite dark, can be extremely attractive when finished properly. A local bank needed about 60 blocks of black walnut machined to hold brass name plaques for its big muckety-mucks. The nut, the shell of the nut (hull), and the leaf are sometimes used to make medicine. I'm not trying to mimic the yellowing effect of oil-based finishes (that's the main reason we switched to WB), just bring out any shimmer and enhance the grain and not add a greyish cast. Finishing Walnut. Question We've been using WB finishes for about 6-7 years now. Warm browns and orange-ish browns look good on the steam dried walnut. The Minwax clear poly, to me, let plenty of detail come through and didn't darken, just highlighted. You can even add an overall burnt umber glaze after the first coat of finish for added effect and to enhance the grain.