walnut oil

[Dave Fritz]

For those of you that use walnut oil as a finish how many coats do you put on? Do you then Bealle buff it out too after it dries?

Thanks,

Dave F.

[Don McClure]

I use Mahoney's walnut oil for utilitarian finishes. I usually just put on one coat. Let it dry which may take a day or two then I will wax with his bee's wax/ oil mixture and then buff. I found if you use too much oil as with multiple coats it is very slow to dry. When I buff this finish I just use the buffing wheel alone, not the 3 wheel system or the other compounds.

[Michelle Rich]

when it's really dry you can buff it, but it might very well clog your buffers.

[Reed Gray]

I have used Mike's oil for years, and recently switched to Doctor's Woodshop Walnut oil mostly because he is an Oregon guy. He does put some 'microagregated' carnuba wax in his mix. I generally slop it on, wait an hour or so, hit it again, then let it sit for a day or three before wiping off the excess. I never buff. My pieces are intended to be used every day, and the buffing is an extra step that fades quickly. It does take a week or so for the oil to cure.

robo hippy

[Mike Cruz]

For utilitarian pieces, I have used 3-4 coats. For other stuff, I use two coats of walnut oil to give the piece richness. When that dries, I apply WTF. In my experience, without oil (walnut oil in my case) under WTF, the color ends up more on the blue spectrum. Noticed this on cherry. On maple, the walnut oil brings out more depth and richness than with WTF alone.

[Bernie Weishapl]

I use Mahoney's oil and have since tried Doctors walnut oil. I generally apply 2 coats with one coat going on wipe off excess let sit for 24 hrs and then apply a second coat. I wipe down after it has sit for a couple of hours and let it dry. I never buff as I don't see any reason to. I agree with Reed that these are utility items and are meant to be used. Buffing does not hold up.

[Marc Himes]

I have used it with and without buffing and agree with Bernie and Reed. One of the turners in our club demonstrated his technique of using it while sanding, which produced a very nice finish.

[Richard Jones]

I use walnut oil from the grocery store and find it excellent for utility pieces, which I predominately do. As others have said, buffing with compounds has not shown any improvement, but I do use Ren wax and buff that, as it sometimes seem to sell better. It's more satin than gloss. One thing that I've found (per Mr. Mahoney) is that the walnut oil cures better/quicker in sunlight, direct or indirect. Must be the UV?

[Reed Gray]

I have used the wet sanding on my flat work when I used to do oil finishes. I have tried it on my bowls, and didn't care for it. Yes, it cuts down on dust, but I found that it kind of filled some defects that I needed to sand out and couldn't see because of the fill. I imagine that if I did it a lot, I would learn to see it, but don't use that method. Mike at the Doctor's Woodshop does that.

robo hippy