Preconditioner on walnut

[petertay15]

Working on a large black walnut piece. Brushed on and wiped off Minwax Preconditioner. Few days later, decided to go over it again with 220 by hand.
So do I need to precondition it again before I stain it, or is it good to go?
Don't ask why stain on walnut. Customer is in charge. Wants it all of an even tone. Thanks for the help.

[Kansas City Fireslayer]

If you really need the pre conditioner then I'd say yes you need it again. Walnut typically stains quite even though.

[Scoony]

Dont think you would really need a preconditioner for walnut.

As for staining it, its whatever the customer wants. I think dyeing might possibly be a better option. You can get some really cool effects on walnut with dyes.

[Kansas City Fireslayer]

I agree with dying walnut. I like using TT dark walnut dye--lightly albeit--to help fight future orangish patina. It also blends the sapwood nicely.

[Scoony]

One of the coolest effects I have seen on walnut was a Queen Ann dressing table. The craftsman bleached the walnut, then used orange dye and garnet shellac. About the nicest finish I have ever seen on walnut.

[Dave Diaman]

Scoony is right. For walnut dye is a better option. If you are sealing the wood with a conditioner and then applying stain you will just be floating pigment on top of the wood. It will probably give you a muddy finish. Keep in mind I'm just guessing here because I've never seen stain used on walnut. Now dye is another whole different animal. There are a ton of things you can do with dyes on walnut. I use dyes all the time to blend sapwood. I also know quite a few guys who have problems finding walnut that isn't steamed and use dye to replicate the air dried unsteamed color.

[JR1]

Pardon my ignorance but why use preconditioner on walnut? One take is Wood Conditioner Confusion . Frankly if you want to pop the grain and control/avoid blotching simply use a tone coat of shellac or a gell stain.