Walnut finish problem

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Sledgehammers_at_Dawn

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This is my first time trying to finish a walnut stock following Dave Person’s method using Polymerized Tung Oil. As I expected, it’s not turning out nearly as good as his examples. Imagine that:)
I’ve included some pictures of what is going on. I made a slurry with sand paper and finish, let dry, sanded, cleaned the stock and am now on my second coat of finish. I ruffed up the finish between coats and let them dry. Now I am seeing dull spots in some of the pours.
Any thoughts and suggestions would be welcome.
Duane
 

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I would just blend in the "rough spots" very lightly with #0000 steel wool, then make sure to get all the steel wool dust off (brush, blow, wipe with tack rag or wipe with solvent) and then repeat your same process. You are putting it on really, really, thin, no? You can add a little solvent to that tung oil if it's too thick.

I think you're coming along OK. Don't be in a hurry to be done. Most of the time it's a case of seeing what the last step did before you decide what to do next.

I'm working on refinishing a stock right now that I've changed directions three times already and I'm still not done.
 
Last edited:
Thank you both. I’m putting it on thin, maybe not really, really thin:) I’ll let it dry a few more days then hit it with grey scotch brite. I’m leery of using steel wool.
Some of the rays and pores don’t seem to have filled up. Will subsequent coats of finish fill them?

Patience is something I am still learning:)
 
Keep going with applying your finish and drying time in between coats. Use the abrasive that you feel confident with (I like using 4/0 steel wool and a tack rag). and lightly knock your finish back before adding other layers of finish. You may need to do 10 to 15 or more coats before you get to where you like it. Don't be in a hurry this is not a race! My last two coats I let dry for about a week before I rub back the last coats with rottenstone then a coat of good paste wax.
 
Sledgehammers_at_Dawn said:
This is my first time trying to finish a walnut stock following Dave Person’s method using Polymerized Tung Oil. As I expected, it’s not turning out nearly as good as his examples. Imagine that:)
I’ve included some pictures of what is going on. I made a slurry with sand paper and finish, let dry, sanded, cleaned the stock and am now on my second coat of finish. I ruffed up the finish between coats and let them dry. Now I am seeing dull spots in some of the pours.
Any thoughts and suggestions would be welcome.
Duane
Click to expand...
Use 0000 steel wool between coats and make sure each coat drys. Use very thin coats. Do this until you get the finish you are looking for. If you have spots you need to remove all the finish where there are spots and do over. Make sure it is in the wood and use walnut stain sparingly on the spots before you start over. I don't like to get a lot of shine I prefer a matte finish.
 
The dull spots are where you didn’t wet sand the slurry well enough. Having done dozens of walnut stocks with this method I’m certain of this. When the slurry is sanded then wiped off hold the wood at a long angle and any dull area will be apparent. Rework these spots before applying any top coats to get a clean smooth finish. Adding multiple top coats to a stock that has the slurry that is only there to fill the pores results in a dull and blotchy looking stock.
 
Phil Coffins said:
The dull spots are where you didn’t wet sand the slurry well enough. Having done dozens of walnut stocks with this method I’m certain of this. When the slurry is sanded then wiped off hold the wood at a long angle and any dull area will be apparent. Rework these spots before applying any top coats to get a clean smooth finish. Adding multiple top coats to a stock that has the slurry that is only there to fill the pores results in a dull and blotchy looking stock.
Click to expand...
I have some Walnut from several sources and the difference is noticeable. One particular piece has a lot of light streaks in it. I turned a piece of some fine Walnut on my lathe and it was very slick needing very little sanding? What I am asking is could he have a piece of walnut like some I have?
 
LME said:
I have some Walnut from several sources and the difference is noticeable. One particular piece has a lot of light streaks in it. I turned a piece of some fine Walnut on my lathe and it was very slick needing very little sanding? What I am asking is could he have a piece of walnut like some I have?
Click to expand...
It is a nice piece of wood with light streaks. I didn’t use any stain. It has some nice 3 d effects, or the French word I won’t try to spell:). Didn’t seem slick and needed to be sanded.
 
Phil Coffins said:
The dull spots are where you didn’t wet sand the slurry well enough. Having done dozens of walnut stocks with this method I’m certain of this. When the slurry is sanded then wiped off hold the wood at a long angle and any dull area will be apparent. Rework these spots before applying any top coats to get a clean smooth finish. Adding multiple top coats to a stock that has the slurry that is only there to fill the pores results in a dull and blotchy looking stock.
Click to expand...
I might have misunderstood when sanding a slurry. I waited for the slurry to dry then sanded with 320 grit, applied finish waited 15 minutes then applied again. I did this with about 3 coats. Let it dry, scuffed it with grey scotchbrite pad and applied finish. Let it dry then applied another coat. Now I’m here with blotches and pores that look dull:-(
 
Sledgehammers_at_Dawn said:
I might have misunderstood when sanding a slurry. I waited for the slurry to dry then sanded with 320 grit, applied finish waited 15 minutes then applied again. I did this with about 3 coats. Let it dry, scuffed it with grey scotchbrite pad and applied finish. Let it dry then applied another coat. Now I’m here with blotches and pores that look dull:-(
Click to expand...
Forgot to include that I wiped the stock after the 15 minutes.
 
Walnut varies a lot, some dense and hard others with large pores that I have used the system on. The key to it is to saturate the wood then in a few minutes wipe it all off. Next wet sand with finish to get the slurry and leave it on to dry hard. Then sand that slurry in again with finish to drive it into the pores and allow that to dry. Depending on the wood two or three treatments like this will fill the pores. Once dry sand with finish again and wipe it off across the grain. The goal at this point is to fill the pores and have nothing on the surface. When you can look at a long angle and not see those dull patches you can start with very thin coats of finish to get what ever shine you like. I don’t use steel wool at all to get a fine finish. Here’s my rifle that I’m currently hunting with, the finish is at least ten years old and has seen plenty of weather. I believe the top coats are only three.
BD803678-D9E2-4041-B5CF-43990C7F7B8D by Oliver Sudden, on Flickr
 
When wiping off finish, do it after just a few minutes. In 15 minutes tung oil can be sticky and hard to remove. And that probably varies with the brand and how much thinner might be involved. You will always be leaving a coat. Just do not leave a thick coat, or the next coat could show dull areas that were not cured and did not blend into the next coat.

It's a hard thing to learn, patience. Waiting to put that next coat on is always a struggle that I am still learning.

A lot of good advice in this thread. There is no one right way. Many ways to skin a cat.
 
Bucolic Buffalo said:
When wiping off finish, do it after just a few minutes. In 15 minutes tung oil can be sticky and hard to remove. And that probably varies with the brand and how much thinner might be involved. You will always be leaving a coat. Just do not leave a thick coat, or the next coat could show dull areas that were not cured and did not blend into the next coat.

It's a hard thing to learn, patience. Waiting to put that next coat on is always a struggle that I am still learning.

A lot of good advice in this thread. There is no one right way. Many ways to skin a cat.
Click to expand...
If youwant a mess don't wipe it down. You are right several thin coats wipeing each coat off between coats.
 
Generally I don't wipe oil. I put in on thinly enough with my fingers, massaging it in, so there's no excess and needs no wiping. After it's dried I do what needs to be done to prep for the next coat. The "polymerized" tung oil "finishes" (such as Minwax and Tru-Oil) are, I think, especially inappropriate for the "soak and wipe" method. That method is more appropriate to boiled linseed oil, IMHO, because it has no "accelerators" in its composition.
 
wiscoaster said:
Generally I don't wipe oil. I put in on thinly enough with my fingers, massaging it in, so there's no excess and needs no wiping. After it's dried I do what needs to be done to prep for the next coat. The "polymerized" tung oil "finishes" (such as Minwax and Tru-Oil) are, I think, especially inappropriate for the "soak and wipe" method. That method is more appropriate to boiled linseed oil, IMHO, because it has no "accelerators" in its composition.
Click to expand...
This is also how I apply an oil finish. I did use polymerized tung oil and thinned it 50:50 with mineral spirits, applied two coats heavily to "soak" and wiped off after a few minutes and lightly applied hand rubbed coats thereafter. I thought it worked very well.
 

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