Need Help Finding an Easy Finish for a Black Walnut Box

[Steve Schnurbusch]

I am very new to finishing and in the past have applied Tung Oil or Teak Oil (both Home Depot versions so not the real stuff apparently).

I was planning on using dewaxed Shellac after watching a Paul Sellers video. But then I started researching black walnut finishes and realized I needed a pHD in wood finishing to figure what the heck they were all talking about!

Would simply applying a clear de-waxed finish do the trick or I do I need to get more complicated? Do I need to apply a grain filler first? Today's the first I've even heard of that. Probably hard to answer without seeing the wood grain I"m working with and I have no idea how to explain if the grain is very open or not. Certainly more open than stainless steel!

This isn't going to be an heirloom kind of a box so I'm not looking for perfection - just something to show off the walnut grain. I suppose I could take some photos of the boxes if that would help. I'm hoping for something simple.

thanks

[Bennett Ostroff]

You might do best sticking with the tung or teak or boiled linseed oil, or an oil/varnish finish. I like Minwax Antique Oil. Very easy to apply, easy to reapply if needed, leaves a nice matte sheen, shows off the grain, and offers a small amount of protection. You can wet sand for super silky finish.

Shellac will be a glossy finish and can be hard to get an even coating. But could be coated over if you want more of a built up finish. Depends on how much protection you want.

I made a ring box to propose and used antique oil and it looks like new a year later with everyday use.

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[Andrew Seemann]

I like shellac on walnut. It has nice clarity. I normally use SealCoat straight from the can, as it is a 2 lb cut, although thinning it a little doesn't hurt. I usually do 2 or 3 coats, with a sanding of 300 or 400 grit in between. A brush or rag works. You don't need grain filler if you don't want it. I typically don't use it.

If you go the oil route, do not oil the inside of the box. I have a butternut box I made in 7th grade, nearly 40 years ago. I did the inside and outside with danish oil, and it still smells like oil on the inside.

[Stan Calow]

If you go the oil route, do not oil the inside of the box. ......and it still smells like oil on the inside.

This. Anything with oil or varnish is likely to leave a smell. DO and some of those products you mention have both.

Walnut is a very fine grain wood, so doesnt normally need grain filler. If you use a film finish, like shellac or lacquer, the first few coats will fill any grain there is anyway. De-waxed only matters if you're going to put some other finish like varnish on top of it.

For a walnut box, if its not too big, I like to use shellac in a spray can, as that makes it easy to get in corners. Spray can lacquer is clearer, but shellac warms up walnut, even when its labelled "clear".

[Bennett Ostroff]

Walnut is a medium to open grain wood, definitely not fine/closed grain. But I would probably steer clear of grain filler for this project. Shellac on the inside is a good idea to avoid lingering smell. But for the outside you have a number of options depending on the look you prefer.

[Jim Becker]

Shellac is a good choice...it adds warmth to the walnut and doesn't have the odor issue that something oil based would have if it gets on the inside of the box. Alternatively, using oil for the slightly better color and grain-pop benefits and then sealing with shellac or spray-bomb clear-coat is a valid choice, too. I do that often with the small boxes I cut with my CNC and sell on ETSY.

[matt romanowski]

I think Danish Oil is the easiest on Walnut. Wipe on, wipe off. Shellac on the inside and it's done. I've done this on a bunch of small boxes and the results are great. The Danish Oil (like what you have used) is almost fool proof.

[Steve Schnurbusch]

thanks for all the feedback. So I have Minwax tung oil finish (so it's not the real thing) and Watco Teak oil finish. Not sure what either of these really are. Could I put these on the outside of the box and then finish with the shellac? Would that give the wood a little more pop? I put a couple coats of shellac on a test piece and it's not really popping. But maybe it's just the walnut I'm using. It's air dried that I got from some guy years ago that had his own bandsaw mill.

[Jim Becker]

Both are similar finishes for wipe on application and yes, you can use them as you state.

Air dried walnut tends to be a lot "more beautiful" in my eyes than steamed KD walnut, including nice color variations. But the finish can only "pop" what's there and you may just have pieces that are relatively plain when it comes to figure, etc.

[Lee Schierer]

You can use grain fillers, but then you will need to apply a stain. What I prefer to do on something small is to use Deft clear wood finish in either semi gloss or satin finish from a spray can. Apply multiple thin coats and sand between coats to fill the grain and build up the finish.

[Rob Young]

thanks for all the feedback. So I have Minwax tung oil finish (so it's not the real thing) and Watco Teak oil finish. Not sure what either of these really are. Could I put these on the outside of the box and then finish with the shellac? Would that give the wood a little more pop? I put a couple coats of shellac on a test piece and it's not really popping. But maybe it's just the walnut I'm using. It's air dried that I got from some guy years ago that had his own bandsaw mill.

Yes, the oil should cause the grain to pop a bit. Test on scrap if you can.

And you can use it on the inside and seal with shellac to mitigate the smell if you wish to have the inside look the same as the outside. A quick and easy way to seal the insides of boxes (drawers, cabinets, etc) with shellac is the (non)rattle can of Zinser Bullseye Shellac. The aerosol stuff works very well and is dewaxed or at least used to be. It always seems to come up as to its status and I can't remember the last time I scanned the label to confirm. But no complaints using it as a sealer or topcoat on small stuff.

Go ahead and pop for the extra $3 and get one of those gizmos that snaps to the top of an aerosol can to give a grip and trigger. Makes using the cans easier.

[Bryan Sevier]

I love the look of Waterlox on Walnut - and it's easy to use. I'd still use the shellac on the inside of the box, but the color Waterlox adds to Walnut is really nice and warm. I also like Garnet shellac on walnut - but sometimes thats not as easy to find.

[Prashun Patel]

Shellac is fine but can be a little hard to apply. The easiest is Waterlox or Danish Oil. Sand to 600 - or even 1000. Wipe on, leave for 5 minutes, buff off. Before the final coat, sand lightly with 600 (or 1000) apply a final coat.

[bill epstein]

Long ago Jeff Jewitt, in an article for FWW wrote that today's walnut is naturally more gray than old growth timber and recommended a 1 1/2 lb. cut of amber shellac on the bare wood, lightly sanded to level. Ever since, I've padded that on, followed by Sherwin Williams Classic Varnish applied with a foam brush. Looks great.

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[glenn bradley]

I may have missed it but, walnut lightens with age. Example of walnut with an oil finish:

When new -
ws frame sm (1).jpg

After a decade -

walnut change-1.jpg

If you want your walnut to stay dark you may want to add a bit of color. Transtint dye can be added to shellac to create a toner if amber or garnet to not get the color you are after.