Walnut finishing

Posted: Mon Oct 31, 2011 8:57 pm     Post subject: Walnut finishing

Chris,
You were kind enough to help me last year with a pendulum clock movement problem. As we talked, you mentioned a favorite method of finishing walnut. I believe you started with a 2# cut of (can't remember which color) shellac.

Can you search your memory banks and see if you can find your method. I remember you described the finish as one of your favorites.

Posted: Tue Nov 01, 2011 1:48 pm     Post subject:

You bet! I like to create my homemade sanding sealer mixture when walnut wood is concerned. I use 3lb cut (de-waxed) orange shellac. I thin this to a 1lb cut (mix two parts denatured alcohol with one part shellac). From there, I apply the resulting mixture to the wood assembly (simply brush it on). Allow the coating to dry (about 1 - 2 hours max) and then sand with #220 grit sandpaper. The purpose of the sanding sealer mixture is to fill those natural crevaces and cracks which occur in many woods. The orange tint adds a little bit of warmth to the walnut wood. Note that additional coatings can be applied before your finish coating. For the long hand summary, click on the link below and scroll down to the "Sanding & Sealing Wood" post.

http://blog.klockit.com/category/design-2/

Remember to test this on a scrap piece of wood initially. It will give you a feel for the process and show you what the resulting finish will look like.

Side Note: On the link site above, if you click on the "home" tab (just underneath the title "Klockit Blog"), you will see an additional article I posted about stains (2nd article down)...

Posted: Thu Nov 03, 2011 12:42 am     Post subject: Thanks!

Thanks, Chris! After filling the pores and crevices and sanding to 220, does it matter which final finish you use? I was thinking a clear lacquer (for clocks) since it's fast drying and clocks don't usually require a super-hard finish. For furniture, is polyurethane OK, either solvent or water based?

Posted: Thu Nov 03, 2011 1:19 pm     Post subject:

Providing you are using De-waxed shellac, there should not be a problem with any finish that you select (whether water or oil based). I have personally used varnish and poly (all oil base) over my sanding sealer mixture. My preference is Bartley Gel Varnish (for furniture, its definately a poly). I suspect that lacquer would work just as well (although my use with lacquer is extremely limited - so I lack experienced confirmation on this). I shy away from water-based products, but only because I have not had much success with them (I just do not personally like the finished look they yield or how quick they tend to dry immediately during the application process).

If you still have your scrap piece of wood, section it off with masking tape to experiment with various finishes of your choice. Finish this scrap piece just as you will the assembly (2 to 3 coatings of finish, with optional sanding between coatings with #400/#600 grit sandpaper). After the final coating of finish, give the piece a bit of "cure" time (about a day or two minimum) and then look over the resulting finish.

Mainly, you want to ensure good adhesion of the finish coating to your wood piece (and sanding sealer mixture), as well as inspection to ensure that there are no finish defects due to incompatibility of products.