New Walnut furniture

[steve_e]

Hi -
About 3 years ago I bought 2 large slabs of walnut that had been cut from an old felled walnut tree - really for no other reason than that I love walnut.

At that time it needed to season so I laid it flat until a couple of months ago. I'd intended to try making something with it myself, but I'm not very experienced working with wood, so I bottled out and instead got a friend to very creatively create a hat, umbrella and coat stand.

He applied 3 coats of danish oil to finish it off. However, these have pretty much soaked in and I'd like to see it 'glowing' a bit more like old walnut can.

Can anyone tell me if there's a particular way to treat walnut? Is danish oil good? Should I keep applying more coats or will that wreck it? Would mung, or another oil be better, or some kind of wax treatment? I'd appreciate any advice anyone can give!

Regards, Steve.

 

[OPJ]

You won't go far wrong with Danish oil - the more coats, the better, really! :wink: Try sanding in between coats (400g silicon carbide or wet and dry paper is ideal for this). You can even apply the oil using the same abrasive, which acts as a kind of "grain filler". Don't forget to wipe away the excess before it dries.

If you wanted to try something different, there are now several hard wax oils on the market as well.

 

[Ironballs]

I'm finishing off a project in oak at the minute and it will be 6 coats of oil by the time I'm done. I'd go for a couple more coats of oil if I were you

 

[steve_e]

Thanks - are you using Danish Oil (and if so are there better/worse versions of this)?

And would you put even more coats on heavily used bits? The hat/coat stand included a seat for sitting on while putting on boots, and it's gone dull very quickly - probably due to the weight it has to endure (I'm the main user...).

Olly - what difference does the wax/oil combination produce? Different finish or just longer wearing?

 

[Ironballs]

I use Liberon Superior Danish Oil, but I'd be pushed to tell the difference between that and Colron Danish Oil.

How much you apply and where depends on what look you're after, you may want a more worn look in the heavy use areas. The wax on top of oil won't add any more protection but it can give a slightly different finish, a bit glossier

 

[OPJ]

I think the hardwax oils are slightly more durable than Danish oil and they seem to require fewer coats. It will still darken timbers like Danish oil does (perhaps not quite as much...). I think it's similar to what is used on wooden kitchen worktops, only slightly thicker.