Keeping a Walnut Burl Light

[Brian Kent]

I am working on a walnut burl table top. On some test pieces I see it can finish really dark. How can I keep it as light as possible?

My planned finishing process:

60 grit drum sander for flatness.

Filling any cracks and voids with either super glue or epoxy / sawdust putty.

Sand the grits to 220 with a Bosch ROS.

Sand by hand at 320 and 400.

Several coats of dewaxed shellac to fill pores.

Several coats of wipe-on poly (oil based).

A month later, wax and buff.


Are there any changes I can make to keep the surface from becoming too dark?

[Jamie Buxton]

Waterborne finishes are generally lighter than solvent-borne ones.

[Brian Kent]

Wow, you aren't kidding. I just put some water based wipe on poly straight onto a chip that was only belt-sanded to 60 grit. It is as light as the test piece I sanded to 320 before applying shellac! It is vibrant, too, like somebody turned up the contrast as well and the lightness.

[Jim Becker]

Brian, do remember that walnut, unlike many other species, tends to get lighter over time, too...

[Brian Kent]

How kind of it to do that for me.