Final stage for buffing

[Brian Kent]

I have some walnut pieces that I am finishing to glossy, starting with 8 to 10 coats of wipe-on poly, leveled with 800 sandpaper before the final coat. I have Black Bison wax polish or Renaissance wax, followed with a buffing pad or wheel.

Is there anything you would do differently? This is a "best I can do" time.

[Kyle Iwamoto]

I've heard many people say to NOT use white diamond compound. I also have first hand experience with the compound getting in pores you can't see. You may have gotten all the pores filled with that many coats, but I'd avoid that if you were planning to do the 3 compound buffing. Memory fades, but I seldom use less than 6 coats of WOP, and I still had pores that got the WD stuck in it.

[Justin Stephen]

Agree. Conventional wisdom is not to use WD on walnut. Personally, I have had white diamond issues on some other types of wood as well and have pretty much just stopped using it altogether. I use Tripoli and then RennWax.

I personally never put that many coats of WOP on a piece, preferring to use multiple coats of an oil/varnish blend as a base coat and then going a couple coats of WOP on top of that, with a nice 0000 steel wool scrub between the coats. I like the sheen and protection that WOP provides, but too many coats makes the finish too plastic-y for my tastes.

This piece (cherry) follows that process. Three coats of AO, steel wool, coat of WOP, steel wool, coat of WOP, buff:

http://www.sawmillcreek.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=330924&d=1454515081&thumb=1 (http://www.sawmillcreek.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=330924&d=1454515081)

For darker woods like walnut, sapele, etc., I prefer natural DO.

[Brian Kent]

I agree. No white diamond powder. The buffing will be with the carnuba wheel or a 3" lamb's wool pad after the wax. I am opting for a multi-multi-coat poly finish and epoxy on the inside of some because they will hold liquids a couple of hours at a time and will need to be hand-washed and dried. There will be no wax on the inside of the cups and pitcher.

[John Keeton]

The secret to getting a smooth surface and filled pores on walnut is to wet sand it with oil, rub the slurry into the grain, coat with shellac, repeat as necessary until a smooth and level surface is achieved. It does take a little time and effort early on, but the benefits in the final finish are worth it IMO. I don't always seek that kind of finish with walnut, but it works well for that high gloss look.

[Marvin Hasenak]

I finish walnut using the "Frank Whiton Classic Gunstock Finish" method. It takes a lot of time and a LOT of patience, but always comes out great. Google what is in parentheses and you should find it.

[robert baccus]

One or two coats of unthinned heavy sanding sealer and then sand down with a 220 grit sponge will fill walnut pores very quickly. Then topcoat with your fav. finish.