Walnut Finishing

[JoeCool]

Just did my first piece in 1/2" walnut and wondered about the best way to finish it. The dark wood is so beautiful and I needed some input from the masters on finshing. The piece is a about 10" H ,10" W, of a classic smiling sun figure.
Thanks in advance,
Joe

[unixpro]

For walnut, I never, ever, put on anything more than Deft. In most cases, I'll dunk it in Watco Danish Oil 2 or three times, per the instructions on the can, let it dry for *at least* 72 hours, then, if I want a little more, do a three-coat of clear Deft with a light sanding between. Walnut is such a beautiful wood as it is. All I ever want to do is enhance the grain pattern a little.

[Bill Wilson]

Walnut is one of those woods that benefits greatly from an oil (varnish, Danish oil, Tung oil, Watco, etc) finish, IMHO. Oils will darken the wood and bring out the contrast in the grain patterns. You can always apply a coat of BLO, then topcoat with something else. I would avoid waterborne finishes as they don't seem to add enough depth to the color, making the walnut look kind of bland and flat.

Rule of thumb in finishing is to always test your entire finishing schedule on scrap before applying to the finished project. Make sure you like the final look and avoid surprises.

[JoeCool]

Wonderful advice !!!!!
Thanks soooooooooooooo much..will do as indicated but test it out first !
Joe

[lucky788scroller]

I too would go with at least one dipping or soaking in danish oil, and be sure to blow through the frets, and wipe off the excess, and allow it plenty of time to cure. Then, like unixpro said, aerosol deft on it. three coats minimally, with 400 grit light sanding between coats. I am sure it'll look great, dont forget to show us when its done!

[wood-n-things]

Joe...You really want to be cool? Share some pics with us....LOL

[bluelucky]

Here is a cross and puzzle made of Walnut and has just 2 coats of lacquer on them.

[smw6442]

Hi I just use lemon oil its brings out the wood and grain very nice and then i spray with a clear its turns out very nice and its a cheep way to go....steve

[sawdustus]

I love to cut walnut and agree that water based finishes just don't do it justice. I have used everything from 3 coats of wiped on gloss poly for furniture pieces to spray poly for fretwork pieces. I have also dipped fretwork pieces in Watco Danish Oil Natural and occasionally spray shellac. Not fond of the shellac results (a bit dull for my tastes). Since walnut is an open grained wood, it usually takes two or three coats of whatever to get a good finish. I usually sand the surface very lightly with 320 grit paper between coats but I don't worry about the surfaces inside the frets.

george