Replies

1. 
   SteveSchoene | Jul 21, 2008 07:24am | #1

   It is important to know how the box will be used and treated.  For example, if a truely wonderful high gloss finish was important, and the box would be lightly used, or well treated, as a almost purely decorative item might be, I would use linseed oil to pop the grain and darken, and then proceed to a full fledge French polish finish finish that fills pores and creates a very high gloss that appears both a mile deep and at the same time with no apparent thickness.  But their is a learning curve. 

   Otherwise, I would add a little color, most likely in the form of a coat of about 2 lb. cut garnet shellac.  That or other darkish shellacs tend to work well with walnut. 

   Then, it is necessary to fill the pores.  I would use an oil-based pore filler, such as Behlen Pore O Pak, tinted to provide a slightly darker shade in the pores than the base color.  I like to thin the pore filler to about the consistency of very heavy cream and apply in liberally with a chip brush.  Then as it has just set up--just hazing over--excess is scraped off across the grain to avoid pulling the filler out of the pores.  Any pore filler left on the surface should be buffed off with a coarse cloth.  I then would give it a week before applying any top coat to be sure that the pore filler will have been well cured before being sealed off from the air by other top coats.  

   For a "super hi-gloss" finish on walnut a wipe on polyurethane varnish is not a good choice because of the difficulty of rubbing out poly varnishes.  Again it become important to know how it box will be used.  High gloss is easier with shellac or lacquer.  To get more durability, a alkyd or phenolic resin varnish  can be used and rubbed out to get a fairly nice high gloss finish.   If a varnish finish must be wiped on, I would use a good brushing varnish and thin to wiping consistency. 

   If a wiping varnish finish is to be rubbed out it must be applied in a particular way.  You would want to apply the finish in "sets" of three coats, applying each succeeding coat in the set just as soon as the previous coat has dried to the touch.  After each set, the finish must be allowed a day to more fully cure, the finish sanded--taking care to use a sanding block so that the sanding levels as well as scuffs the surface before applying the next set.  Wiped on varnish to be rubbed out will require 3 or 4 sets, in part depending on how heavily each set had to be sanded to achieve the leveled surface. 

   Then, after curing for roughly a month you can begin the rubbing out process, starting with 600 grit wet/dry sand paper, and progressing to about 1200 (CAMI) or 2000P with the European system.  At that point you would shift to a polishing compound to remove any sanding scratches, finish with the very finest "swirl remover" sort of polish. 

2. 
   BG | Jul 21, 2008 01:59pm | #2

   Glastarza,

   I just want to encourage you to seriously consider the french polish alternative that Steve mentioned. For the last thirty odd years I've always believed a french polish could only be used by those who were in a constant state of grace or had made a pact with the devil. Well, my wife is wrong, I have not made any pact.

   I think it was 'Hammer' who posted the protocol below, first I tried it on a piece of scrap mahogany and then on a mahogany table top. The outcome was incredible and quite easy. Any mistakes could be quickly washed away with alcohol. It gave me a much greater appreciation and control over shellac. It's also fairly inexpensive.

   The worst thing that can happen is you abandon the process and go to the wipe on solution. Having a layer of shellac under the varnish adds a lot of great color to your project.

   
1. 
   GLASTARZA | Jul 21, 2008 04:54pm | #3

   thanks for the help!