finishing walnut question

[Ken Miller]

I put 2 coats of blo with wax on top and have gotten a white color in the pores. I'm not looking to fix this problem in that it was scrap, however, I don't want to repeat the problem. What was the cause of this? Is there a preferred finish for a medium to light sheen and without adding color?

[Donnie Raines]

Ken, I suspect that the white is the wax(..assuming you used a clear paste?) Walnut is an open pore wood...drag your finger nail across the grain and you will fill the nail grab at the edge od the pores. When you applied the oil, the lumber simply absorb it...and the pores were left exposed. you could: apply a dark paste wax: for future projects use a oil base pore filler to fill the grain, then top coat with whatever film finish you like:or you could apply the linseed oil(..if you use an oil base fim finish, useing linseed oil is redunted with waknut) allow to dry thourghly and top coat with a film finish.

DonnieR

[Wolf Kiessling]

I put 2 coats of blo with wax on top and have gotten a white color in the pores. I'm not looking to fix this problem in that it was scrap, however, I don't want to repeat the problem. What was the cause of this? Is there a preferred finish for a medium to light sheen and without adding color?

Ken, for walnut I like to use natural color danish oil (the brand doesn't matter IMO) for a nice, satiny sheen. Fillers and wax aren't really necessary. If you want a glossier finish, Tru-Oil (the gunstock finish) is excellent. With Tru-Oil you can make your finish as satiny or glossy as you want, it is determined by how many coats you apply.