KMay Posted February 3, 2016 Report Share Posted February 3, 2016 I am planning on putting a new top in an existing coffee table of mine (the wife's). She wants like the color of walnut and I'm pretty excited to build it. However, when it comes to finishing wood, I'm only familiar with poly. She wants the top to be as natural as possible. The piece of walnut I had is just a raw piece of wood and she wants it to look as close to that as possible. So what I'm looking for is suggestions on sealing it that won't affect the natural look of the wood. Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
estesbubba Posted February 3, 2016 Report Share Posted February 3, 2016 Any finish is going to darken the wood especially walnut. A waterborne finish will darken it the least but tends to leave it cold looking. Garnet shellac or oil will warm it up but also darken it. Best bet is do some test boards and see what the wife likes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KMay Posted February 3, 2016 Author Report Share Posted February 3, 2016 Ok. I'll look into those. Does anyone know anything about wax sealers? If that's even a thing... Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wtnhighlander Posted February 3, 2016 Report Share Posted February 3, 2016 Wax provide essentially no protection. To a test piece with poly and see how she likes it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lee Bussy Posted February 3, 2016 Report Share Posted February 3, 2016 In my scrap testing for my table, Arm-R-Seal satin is the more natural looking on oak. The application is pretty darned easy too. Wipe a board with Mineral Spirits (dries in a few hours). How it looks there is how it will look with Arm-R-Seal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted February 3, 2016 Report Share Posted February 3, 2016 "natural" can mean many things. Color, sheen, feel, clarity..... The knee jerk reaction is to associate natural with color, but wood naturally has a large color variation. Sheen, feel, clarity are more nuanced but, in my opinion, getting those right contribute most to a sucessful natural finish. In my experience, a light application of wipe on poly (like Arm R Seal or Minwax wipe-on) will darken the wood but leave it otherwise natural looking. Good clarity, feel and sheen and protection. But be careful, more than a couple coats and the clarity and feel start to get compromised. A light shellac (superblonde to light amber) will give less color than poly, better clarity and natural feel and sheen. done correctly, shellac can look like polished raw wood. You don't even know it is there but provides enough protection to allow you to wipe up stains. Waterbase: your mileage might vary but I am not a huge fan of waterbase on walnut. It does not darken the wood, but somehow leaves it looking unnatural. It gives it a cool blue tone that does not exist in nature. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HoffmanWoodworks Posted February 8, 2016 Report Share Posted February 8, 2016 I think you might have to weigh out the natural look vs. durabilty... You want to protect it from spills and stains, yet make it not look like plastic. Maybe a poly satin finish? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gilgaron Posted February 9, 2016 Report Share Posted February 9, 2016 On 2/3/2016 at 9:29 PM, KMay said: Ok. I'll look into those. Does anyone know anything about wax sealers? If that's even a thing... Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk I've finished walnut wall hangings with beeswax/mineral oil 1:1 and it looks great, but I'd be nervous about it on a table. Still, if you're willing to reapply frequently it would probably be fine. But if you want to be able to forget about it and not be careful with the table then you'll want something more durable and protective. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TerryMcK Posted February 9, 2016 Report Share Posted February 9, 2016 @KMay not sure where you are in the world but if you are in the US (but not California) or Canada General Finishes Arm R Seal satin or matt is really easy to apply and looks great. If you are in Europe you would be better using a waterbourne finish like General Finishes Enduro Var. You can't obtain ARS in Europe because of volatiles restrictions now unfortunately. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KMay Posted February 10, 2016 Author Report Share Posted February 10, 2016 I am in the US. Nashville TN to be exact. I do have access to a woodcraft store also. As far as look. When I say natural I mean zero gloss (she hates gloss) and no darker than it currently is. It is a very soft brown with only the grain pattern visible. I'll try to post some pics tonight. I've never used Arm R Seal. I'll look into it. I'll try to get a list of the different finishes I'm going to try based on you guys responses. So keep them coming please. The beeswax mixture is interesting. I don't mind touching it up so I'll try that to. I'm worried about shellac because of the alcoholic dilemma and it being a coffee table. Does wine/beer/liquor REALLY melt it back down? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eric. Posted February 10, 2016 Report Share Posted February 10, 2016 Satin finish doesn't give you gloss, it gives you sheen. I'm like your wife in that I also hate gloss on wood almost always, so I use satin finishes. A wood with no sheen just looks raw, dull, boring. You can achieve sheen by applying straight oil or wax and buffing, but those finishes offer nearly zero protection...not suitable for a table that will be used. Shellac will offer a bit more protection than oil or wax but not much more, and it will be much more work to get shellac to a satin or matte sheen. Arm-R-Seal satin, IMO, is the fastest, easiest way to a finish that makes the perfect compromise between protection and appearance. Here are a few walnut projects of mine finished with ARS satin. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lee Bussy Posted February 10, 2016 Report Share Posted February 10, 2016 29 minutes ago, KMay said: I'm worried about shellac because of the alcoholic dilemma and it being a coffee table. Does wine/beer/liquor REALLY melt it back down? Yep, like in less than a minute. I don't know about beer but I can attest to a mixed drink doing it pretty durned quick. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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