stevenelkins Posted May 1, 2015 Report Share Posted May 1, 2015 Hello everyone! I'd like to achieve a nice ebony finish on my antique teak (Aunt Teak?) dining table but I want to make sure that the beautiful grain is NOT obscured. Should I use an ebony stain or ebony dye? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eric. Posted May 1, 2015 Report Share Posted May 1, 2015 NO! LOL And call me crazy, but that looks like walnut. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
..Kev Posted May 1, 2015 Report Share Posted May 1, 2015 My vote would be neither Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevenelkins Posted May 1, 2015 Author Report Share Posted May 1, 2015 Maybe it is walnut. The table is about 70 years old and I have a torn piece of paperwork from the original purchase (the table was my parents') and the word "teak" is hand written on the receipt, So, Eric and TIODS - could you please elaborate on your answers? I'm a newbie and I don't want to screw this up. The original finish on the table was very dark (like ebony) and I want to recapture the original look. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevenelkins Posted May 1, 2015 Author Report Share Posted May 1, 2015 The bottom line... I want to be able to see the grain. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eric. Posted May 1, 2015 Report Share Posted May 1, 2015 Then don't dye it. Why would you ruin that beautiful wood by slathering black all over it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevenelkins Posted May 1, 2015 Author Report Share Posted May 1, 2015 I'm totally confused. I've been doing some online research and people seem to say that stain tends to hide the grain while dye will enhance the grain. I need help! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eric. Posted May 1, 2015 Report Share Posted May 1, 2015 We're giving you a hard time man...we're saying don't stain it, don't dye it, don't do anything to it and leave the wood looking like wood. If you're dead set on making that table black, try out a couple things on an inconspicuous area and see what you like best. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xxdabroxx Posted May 1, 2015 Report Share Posted May 1, 2015 I think you will find on woodworking forums that the general populace is against stains and dyes in general. I'm all for a simple finish, skip the stains and dyes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted May 1, 2015 Report Share Posted May 1, 2015 I'm totally confused. I've been doing some online research and people seem to say that stain tends to hide the grain while dye will enhance the grain. I need help! kind of... dye will show more grain than stain. In some cases, dye will highlight figure (but not necessarily grain, which are two different things). I agree with the crowd, just be a clear finish on it and call it a day. could be teak, it has similar grain to walnut. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gilgaron Posted May 1, 2015 Report Share Posted May 1, 2015 If you want to see what a natural finish will look like you can wipe it with some mineral spirits. I think you'll find that it is nice and beautiful without any added colors. An oil finish may add a little yellow tint, whereas a shellac could add some other hues depending on color. These would be more subtle than stain or dye. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevenelkins Posted May 1, 2015 Author Report Share Posted May 1, 2015 Eric was right! I took one of the leaves into a restoration guy - he took one look and said "walnut" I agree that a natural finish would look beautiful - I'm just sentimentally attached to the original look of the piece. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichardA Posted May 1, 2015 Report Share Posted May 1, 2015 Then use Watco Danish oil with the walnut tint, that will darken it somewhat, but you still get to enjoy the wood... Let it dry for a week, then finish it with a matte poly, several coats! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post bgreenb Posted May 2, 2015 Popular Post Report Share Posted May 2, 2015 Eric was right! . You'll get used to it. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevenelkins Posted May 3, 2015 Author Report Share Posted May 3, 2015 Okay. I've decided to go with the natural finish. RichardA suggests Watco Danish Oil with a walnut tint followed by polyurethane top coats. Are there any other options for a natural finish? Could I go straight to polyurethane? Or should the wood be pretreated with something (a sealer?) before the top coats go on? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wdwerker Posted May 3, 2015 Report Share Posted May 3, 2015 You can skip the Watco and go straight to poly. Wipe it down with mineral spirits and that's about what it will look like. If you use several coats you will get some additional amber tints from the poly, brush on or wipe on like ARS. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevenelkins Posted May 3, 2015 Author Report Share Posted May 3, 2015 Thanks wdwerker! What about using boiled linseed oil and then polyurethane? Is there any advantage to that? BTW - what is ARS? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eric. Posted May 3, 2015 Report Share Posted May 3, 2015 ARS = Arm-R-Seal. It's a wipe-on urethane made by General Finishes and fairly universally loved for its ease of application, durability and final look on most woods. You may gain just a bit of additional richness starting with BLO...but you'll also gain a much longer finishing time. BLO takes forever to dry, and you'll need to give at least a week before you can start top-coating. But there is nothing like BLO to bring out the warmth and richness of walnut. ARS by itself does a pretty good job, but I think BLO adds a bit more depth. I usually skip it though. I think Rich's walnut Watco idea would be better than BLO for a first coat if you're in a hurry...it'll dry a little faster than straight oil and you'll start building a film on top of it right away. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wdwerker Posted May 3, 2015 Report Share Posted May 3, 2015 The walnut Watco will dry faster than BLO and add a little color to the wood without hiding the grain. Plus one coat should dry in a day or 2, 3 days tops. BLO might take a week or even more to dry. But straight to poly is quite safe for what you are doing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevenelkins Posted May 3, 2015 Author Report Share Posted May 3, 2015 Thanks, Eric! I'm not in a rush. I want the best result I can achieve. So I'm thinking BLO... wait a week... then start top coating with a satin polyurethane. Does that sound good? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eric. Posted May 3, 2015 Report Share Posted May 3, 2015 Yep, I think you'll be pleased with that. One word of caution though...walnut is an open-pored wood and there's no need to drown it in the linseed oil. Apply just enough to quench its thirst and wipe back any excess right away. Otherwise the oil will weep out of the pores for days and they'll dry into little gummy boogers all over the surface...and that's no good. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevenelkins Posted May 3, 2015 Author Report Share Posted May 3, 2015 Thanks wdwerker! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wdwerker Posted May 3, 2015 Report Share Posted May 3, 2015 If you can wipe a clean cotton rag over the surface and pick up no oil or stickiness a couple days in a row you should be good to start w thin coats of poly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brendon_t Posted May 4, 2015 Report Share Posted May 4, 2015 Looking forward to the after pics. I do love me some blo on walnut Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevenelkins Posted May 4, 2015 Author Report Share Posted May 4, 2015 A few more questions: Do I apply more than one coat of BLO? If so, how many? Should I sand between coats? If only one coat of BLO, should I sand before applying the topcoat? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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