figured walnut finish

[Buckhunter]

looking for recommendations for the finish on a figured walnut nightstand that I have recently built .  I have a good supply of wipe on poly that I bought on sale a couple years ago but was thinking maybe an oil finish . If I do use the wipe on poly should I use a sanding sealer first ? ...... all advice is welcome

[petertay15]

All my work is black walnut. Air dried. I sand to 220, use oil or wipe-on poly. Beautiful either way. Never used sanding-sealer as it is not needed.

[cputnam]

If your poly is several years old, you should probably test on scrap 1st. Seems as though I remember a Woodnet member who went by ht name pf Walnut Guy showing samples of shellac under oil varnish that looked very nice. Was it me, I'd buy a new can of Arm-R-Seal, test on a small piece. and then do the real thing. Thinning by about 50% with good mineral spirits to make a wiping varnish would be my choice.

[Buckhunter]

can wipe on poly be wet sanded ? .... how many coats ?

[SteveS]

If you want to fill the pores using the wet sand method with the oil poly, you should cut it with some mineral spirits and BLO to make it flow easier. After wiping it down you can apply the top coats to built it. I like the way satin finish looks on walnut and it's easier than working a high gloss finish.

After the wet sanding I'd probably apply 3-4 coats since you would need to sand it down to eliminate imperfections.

[KingwoodFan1989]

If the Walnut is already about the shade of color you want, I'm sure just an oil-based poly would work fine, though I'm not sure if 2 years is too long for finish to sit or not. I used some figured Walnut for contrasting drawer fronts on two tables I built several years ago, and as great as the figure looked, I wanted the Walnut to be a few shades darker than it was while still making the figure pop. What I ended up doing there is putting just a couple drops or so of Transtint Dye (Dark Walnut) in some Bullseye Sealcoat (De-waxed Shellac, so as not to risk adhesion problems with my protective topcoat) and applying a coat of that. It deepened the color without making it look too unnatural. Whatever you end up doing, I hope you have a decent sized offcut from this figured Walnut to test out finishes on. That's always the way to go.

EDIT: Sorry about the images being on their sides (STILL not sure why that happens on here), but it's the Walnut I wanted you to see rather than the entire tables, so I guess it's ok this time.

[Buckhunter]

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[BoCo]

Beautiful figure in the walnut.  Knowing how hard it is to photograph, it is probably more awesome in person.

[Kansas City Fireslayer]

I would test your wipe on poly first to make sure it’s not too old to work as it should. You will have a mess on your hands if it doesn’t dry right or any other issue. Oil based poly is cheap to buy. You can make your own wipe on poly with mineral spirits, poly and BLO in equal parts. Or just add MS to thin the oil poly. It’s a long and tedious process but it can result in an excellent finish. After a proper cure time. You can lightly rub it out. I like pastecwax and OOOO steel wool. It will soften the sheen and make it super smooth.

ARM-R-Seal is also popular for Walnut. Danish oil is another.
I typically use Seal Coat with a little dark walnut Transtint and then finish with a waterbourne General Finishes product. I have a sprayer though and the sprayer makes it easy.

I will say the pourous nature of walnut should be considered before you choose any finish. Unless you pore fill or keep sanding back your finish, a higher gloss finish will make the pores more evident. I typically use a satin or low gloss sheen but that’s personal preference. Whatever you do, be patient and make some test boards.

[zaret]

i've never regretted using seal-a-cell and arm-r-seal on walnut.  used gallons of it.  a staining pad, kept in a paint can full of mineral spirits, makes a great applicator....

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