Walnut Top

[Brad Reiter]

I am in the process of building a walnut table with glued up panels, the walnut has some light sapwood, is there a way to "stain" or "dye" the top to even out the color.

Has anyone tried this, if so what did you use for a dye? I would like to keep the color as natural as possible.

[Jeff Jewitt]

Fortunately with walnut it’s pretty easy to color sapwood, because the heartwood doesn’t change color over time as drastically as other woods like cherry. I prefer water based dyes applied using a small piece of cotton cloth (t-shirt) dampened with the stain.
To know what dye color to use wipe the heartwood/sapwood areas with distilled water so you can preview the dark color of the heartwood. Using a small piece of the cotton rag, dip the corner in some mixed dye (Brown Mahogany TransTint works for most walnut), and press the excess off on the side of the container. Before the distilled water that you applied earlier dries, wipe the dye on the sapwood lightly, using the rag wrapped around the tip of your finger. The still-wet distilled water on the rest of the heartwood keeps a hard edge from forming. When you’re done, you can wipe the entire surface lightly with a water dampened rag or piece of gray scotchbrite to even it out if necessary. For molded edges or other hard to get to areas, use the sharp edge of an artists brush to apply the dye.

Always practice on some samples first to get the hang of this......................

[Scott Holmes]

Yes, I would suggest spraying TransTint walnut or dark walnut dye in alcohol. No wiping needed. Jeff's advice may be better now that I think about the cusromer in the pics wanted their walnut very dark. Brown MAhog may be better. Also working with the TT dye in water is a bit easier for a beginner.

See my album here on SMC; the walnut in the pics is loaded with sap wood.

[Brad Reiter]

Thank you Jeff and Scott, i will pick up some TransTint and give it a try.

I'll post pics of the results.

[Jerry Olexa]

I've used Brown Mahogany TransTint on sapwood on walnut projects with excellent results. As Jeff says, it will work esp for your application.. HTH