I am finishing a solid walnut buffet I recently built. One of the end panel boards is a reddish brown color as compared to the brownish black of all of the other walnut boards. I tinted the red board with Constantines Non-Grain Raising walnut stain. Then for finishing I have orange shellac under Clear Bartley Gel wipe on. After one coat of clear gel I have tried coloring the red board with Brown Mahogany and also Walnut (all Bartley Gel Stains) but the red still comes shining thru. The finish really looks great but I am unhappy with the red board color. I have lost the scrap pieces of the red board to practice with. Suggestions and advice are welcome.
Also, I finished the inside which is walnut also with shellac and plan to wax inside and out; how long should I let the finish cure before waxing both the shellac and the Bartley Gel?
Frank
Replies
I would try a thin glaze tinted with raw umber. The slight greenish tint of raw umber tends to correct the reddish tendencies (green and red mix to brown).
Frank - you're at a bad point in the finishing process to match up the color of different boards. The best time to do the matching was at the beginning when you used the NGR walnut stain. If you had applied the dye then wiped the boards with mineral spirits or naphtha you would have been able to preview the color of the boards before applying the finish and make adjustments. You can use this technique next time.
If you were applying the finish with spray equipment, you could use a colored finish (toner or shading stain) on the affected board, but it will be more difficult to blend in using hand applied techniques. Having no scrap to practice/test on puts you at more of a disadvantage.
There are a couple ways to color just the red board at this point using hand applied techniques. The first, and probably the better option, is to use a glaze on the board. Use an oil-base glaze, in a greenish brown tint, and brush it on the area spreading it evenly. Start by sanding the finish lightly with 400 grit paper until the finish is dull. Then brush on the glaze feathering it out at the edges of the red board. The good thing about oil-base glaze is that it dries slowly and you have time to work with it. If it doesn't look right, you can use a rag wetted with mineral spirits to wipe it off (before it dries). Use a glaze, not a stain for this step. You can get a glaze from a finishing supplier, like http://www.homesteadfinishing.com . I'd start with raw umber and adjust the color as needed. The greenish brown tones of raw umber will combine with the reddish tone of the wood to create a brown (go to http://www.liberonsupply.com/ColorTheory.html for an explanation of the theory of color combinations). Once the glaze dries, complete the finish with a few coats of your gel varnish.
The second option is to use a colored finish on the red board. I'd use a 1/2 pound cut of dewaxed shellac that is colored with dye. Again, I'd start with raw umber (alcohol dye in this case) and adjust the color as needed. Sand the existing finish with 400 grit paper until dull before applying the toner (colored finish). Brush the colored shellac on the area of the red board spreading it even. You won't have time to play around - the shellac will dry very fast. If the color is wrong, you can use denatured alcohol to remove the shellac. The alcohol will not hurt the finish you already have as long as the gel varnish is a continuos film. Once the color is good, and the shellac is dry, complete the finish with a few coats of the gel varnish.
As far as waxing goes, I would not wax the interior. Technically you can use a paste wax over the finish in about a week, but it's better to wait longer if you can. The finish will continue to cure, and get harder, the longer you wait. If possible, wait a month or more.
Paul
F'burg, VA
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