Orange shellac on Walnut

[Dan Mitchell]

Built a coffee table out of Walnut, considering orange shellac as the finish. 1st time working Walnut, and have never used orange shellac, very happy with how the table came out, don't want to hose it at this stage. Any tips on orange shellac in general, and its use on Walnut in particular? I'd like to use a wiping method of application.

TIA

Dan

[Ed Gibbons]

I used it on a small jewerly box several years ago. I thought it looked good. Don't go more than 2 coats. (I brushed on.) Finishing many times comes down to personal preference. FYI, I used Bulls Eye premixed orange shellac. You can also mix your own combining blonde and orange flakes to customize color.

Good luck.
Ed

[Jeff Willard]

Test on scrap first.

[Kent A Bathurst]

Built a coffee table out of Walnut, considering orange shellac as the finish. 1st time working Walnut, and have never used orange shellac, very happy with how the table came out, don't want to hose it at this stage. Any tips on orange shellac in general, and its use on Walnut in particular? I'd like to use a wiping method of application.

TIA

Dan

I just used garnet on walnut for the first time. Bet orange would give good results as well. Here is what I did: Poured a small amount of BLO into a dish. Took a folded rag, and dipped just the corner into the BLO, and wiped it on as thinly as possible. Walnut darkened up and almost glowed. Waited a few hours, then a few coats of 1.5# shellac, using padding cloth to wipe on. The garanet shellac really deepened the finish. I really, really like this way it turned out. Test as advised by other Jeff, of course.

FYI - on my test piece, I felt that 3 coats of garnet was what I wanted, and more than that started to get a step too far. My padding leaves very thin coats, and I wanted a little more build, so I ended with a couple coats extra pale..

[Dan Mitchell]

Thanks for the replies. I'm pretty new to all of this, doing well with the woodworking part, but the finishing part I really dread a bit. I recently made a nice end table out of Maple & Bloodwood, which I finished with Minwax Tung Oil Finish, looks very nice, but it's a "low traffic" piece & I'm not sure tung oil would hold up well on something that sees more use, such as a coffee table. I understand the orange (and maybe garnet, which I assume is a bit redder) shellacs help out the rather cold steamed/kiln dried Walnut. I don't plan to stain. I have red that Danish oil is good on Walnut, too. What other finishes would be fairly easy to apply (preferably wipe on) would deepen the color, buy maybe afford more protection?

Dan

[Prashun Patel]

My 2cents after having done a walnut coffee table:

A coat of amber shellac will warm up the piece, but too much, and it starts to look unnatural.

I've since done a couple walnut pieces completely unstained and undyed. I much prefer it.

My favorite finish is an oil/varnish blend. Wet sanded in for the first couple coats to partially fill the grain. I personally have experienced BLO to muddy the grain a little compared to tung oil, but it's also more ambery, so it imparts more warmth than does tung. So, you can decide which oil makes more sense for yr blend...

[John Keeton]

I like the look of walnut with BLO and clear shellac. After that, I guess topcoat choice is personal preference, and may add some tone.

Walnut is my favorite wood, and I have some projects that are 25 years old or so. The walnut really lightens and ambers over time, and the grain differences fade into a very beautiful, mellow look. I have never tried garnet shellac, and while it may really enhance to look of freshly milled walnut, I wonder what it will look light over time.

Does anyone have a piece on which they have used garnet shellac some years ago? Might be interesting to see the appearance.

[Jim Becker]

I happen to like the look of shellac on walnut as it gets you to that rich, amber/gold glow that walnut eventually oxidizes to faster. (Walnut gets lighter over time unlike most other woods)

[Faust M. Ruggiero]

Don't think about your finish as how many coats you put on. Think about how much finish you leave on. Whether you rub, brush or spray your finish, a good job of rubbing out the finish will level and smooth the surface. As long as you are using a finish that will "melt" into the previous coat create a soft and smooth surface while removing quite a bit of the previous coat. It's best to apply at least two coats before you begin the rubbing out process. That will help protect from rubbing through the finish down to your bare wood (not a problem unless you colored the bare wood prior to topcoat). It may sound like a waste of finishing material but the results will be something you may never see except on the highest end furniture.
fmr

[Larry Fox]

BLO, couple of coats of Orange shellac, topcoat is my favorite schedule for walnut. I use a lot of water-based topcoats and the shellac (orange in particular) really warms things up nicely.

[Scott Holmes]

I personally like the garnet shellac on walnut.

[John Keeton]

Scott, do you have walnut pieces you have done with Garnet that have some years on them? I would like to know how the color is after 5-10 years with the Garnet vs. clear/amber.

[Dan Mitchell]

BLO, couple of coats of Orange shellac, topcoat is my favorite schedule for walnut. I use a lot of water-based topcoats and the shellac (orange in particular) really warms things up nicely.

Larry - What specific top coats (brands)?

Thanks for the input,

Dan

[Larry Fox]

I use mostly Target Coatings products. On Walnut I have used EM6000 and Hybrvar. The Hybrvar I found to be a little warmer than the EM6000 but they are both wonderful products. The Hybrvar is no longer called that but I forget what the new name is. A quick call to Target should get you what you need.

[John S. Genzer]

I just used garnet on walnut for the first time. Bet orange would give good results as well. Here is what I did: Poured a small amount of BLO into a dish. Took a folded rag, and dipped just the corner into the BLO, and wiped it on as thinly as possible. Walnut darkened up and almost glowed. Waited a few hours, then a few coats of 1.5# shellac, using padding cloth to wipe on. The garanet shellac really deepened the finish. I really, really like this way it turned out. Test as advised by other Jeff, of course.

FYI - on my test piece, I felt that 3 coats of garnet was what I wanted, and more than that started to get a step too far. My padding leaves very thin coats, and I wanted a little more build, so I ended with a couple coats extra pale..

QUESTION:

I am going to finish a walnut plant stand and would like to do this also, BLO, then orange shellac wipped on. Then, could I wipe on a poly to add some protection against moisture?

I'm a nubie at all this.
John

[Scott Holmes]

You would be better protecting it with a harder varnish than polyurethane varnish.

Poly is tough (floors) not hard. The shellac is a great moisture barrier and I would suggest garnet shellac on walnut.

Note if you use a premixed "orange shellac" like Zinsser you will be apply a shellac that has not been de-waxed and poly will not stick; the other varnishes will.

I would suggest a dewaxed shellac like Zinsser seal coat or a garnet mixed fresh from flakes; then a phenolic resin varnish like Waterlox Original in either satin or gloss.

Note: Gloss will highlight every flaw; satin will hide many flaws.

[Kent A Bathurst]

QUESTION:

I am going to finish a walnut plant stand and would like to do this also, BLO, then orange shellac wipped on. I'm a nubie at all this.
John

Someone jump in here if I am wrong, but I believe that as long as you use dewaxed shellac, you can pretty much put anything on top of it.

For dewaxed orange, garnet, etc, you may need to go to flakes and mix your own. Flakes keep a long time (esp in fridge) and you can mix only what you need in the near-term, avoiding any potential shelf life issues for a long time.

[Jim Kountz]

Heres a lowboy I did with amber on walnut.
http://sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=109081&highlight=lowboy+progress

[Scott Holmes]

Shellac is color fast it does not darken with age; many varnishes will darken.

[Ed Griner]

I have found black walnut (mid-atlantic) really looks good with minwax antique oil,warmed up a little,in a 72 degree shop.Apply several coats(whatever makes you happy)Followed by a good quality wax.Its very simple way to finish way to finish walnut with a period look.(easy to renew in five or ten years) I use blond shellac primarily as a sealer and the darker shellacs on antique repairs Ed