I am making a small Sheraton style table with Black Walnut. I would like a high gloss finish on the table top . I have worked with shellac in the past and like the results, but have difficulty getting a satisfactory high gloss French Polish finish. Any suggestions?
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Try padding lacquer. I have been using it for about a year and a half, with excellent results. The stuff stinks so you may want to wear a mask. I brush on a very thin coat of shellac and let this dry overnight. Then pad it on much like you would shellac, being careful to "land" and "take off" gently and never stop while the pad is on the surface. While you can apply padding lacquer over shellac ( or just about anything) the reverse is not true. I found out the hard way, that shellac applied over the padding lacquer turns into a wrinkled mess. Of course like all high gloss finishes this looks best on filled grain.
Rob Millard
Thjanks for teh information on padding lacquer. Do you recommend a particular brand ? Also does it have to be thinned ?
I have only used the Qualasole sold by Behlen. I believe there is a thinner for it, but I have never used it.
Rob Millard
Did you get a chance to check out the new issue of Fine Woodworking? There's an article about making and finishing a Walnut cabinet....has to do with shellac, glazing, gel stains, etc.
Good luck and post some pics of your piece.
A good friend will come and bail you out of jail...BUT, a true friend will be sitting next to you saying "Damn...that was fun"!
I have never used walnut and that article scared me. Sounds like finishing walnut is part science and part alchemy.
Dick Durbin
Ole,
Walnut, in my opinion, is one of the easiest woods to put a finish on, because it looks pretty good no matter what you do. A fellow told me once that he was at the presentation of a ceremonial gavel (he's a mason) that was so pretty he asked what the finish was., The maker told him his finishing secret....motor oil!
Are you the "ole" part of your name, or is the bike old? I have a '38 Indian.
Regards,
Ray
It's Ole as in Old and biker as in bicyclist. I keep lusting after a motorcycle but my wife tells me that I can't afford the motorcycle payment AND the divorce settlement.
Ole,
My wife's take was a little different: "It's better than wanting a new girlfriend"
Cheers,
Ray
I can see how you'd get that impression from that article. I can't quite fathom why someone would go to all that trouble to cover up the beautiful color of walnut... I agree with joinerswork: Walnut is easy, because it will look good with just about any finish. It's gorgeous with nothing more than oil and wax, and spectacular with a high-quality varnish, shellac, or lacquer polish.I may have to try the padding lacquer-over-shellac that Rob Millard suggested. But just padding on shellac gives a pretty nice result!"Everything should be made as simple as possible, but no simpler." A. Einstein
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