Darkening Walnut


Coop

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I hate to interrupt another thread along the same topic, but better than a HJ. We recently bought a new bedroom suite that included a new bed, dresser and side table. Long story and boring but at least the new one is all wood. But, it is dark walnut. Now, wifey wants a side table on her side like I have with the initial purchase but, doesn’t want to spend the extra $500. I recently built an end table for the family room from walnut slabs that I acquired and she likes the style but not the reddish tint in the wood as “ it doesn’t match”. Question, can walnut with a reddish tint be darkened to take out the red? I’d rather loose my virility than to ask this question about discoloring walnut, but it seems that I might if I don’t. 

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Walnut is one place that I use mild colorants.  I shoot for the color that walnut originally is when oil finished.  I do this simply to avoid the lightening that occurs in walnut over time.  This has caused me to bumble forward into adjusting some walnut that would otherwise be a bad match for a project to be of some use.  The point is that with some Transtint you can push material to everything from a subtle matching to a full blown sunburst guitar type look.

Understanding that I rarely "color" wood in the way we mostly think about stained finishes, critical to my arsenal are Transtint black, bright red, blue, lemon yellow and medium brown.  Browns come in a wide range of colors from mahogany "orange" to antique cherry "red" (almost black).  You can save some money by experimenting with a cheap water color set to find out if you need to push a brown dye towards red, blue or otherwise.

I have found this color wheel to be of value enough that I have gotten over the sting of paying $15 or $20 for it.

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I've used Watco walnut danish oil and had success. 

I built a couple of bedside tables that had walnut tops and shelves. It doesn't hide the beauty of the wood, but it does help to even out the reds, purples, browns, and even keeps the sapwood from sticking out like a sore thumb. 

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I've also had good luck with diluted alcohol based dyes misted on in thin layers until it's reached the color. If there is a small piece from the bed that can be detached you can keep it in a zip bag for comparison in the shop. I keep the bag under a towel if I am spraying so that the overspray doesn't settle on it. Alcohol based ( or acetone based) dyes dry exceptionally fast. If it gets too dark you can wipe it off with solvent & start over.

ML Campbells Microtone Dark Walnut dye. 

http://abbotpaint.com/itemdetails.cfm/2185237/M.L. Campbell Microton Stain Dark Walnut Quart

If you can find someone that will sell to you, it's supposed to be a pro item. And $30 a quart if I remember right. But I cut it 25%dye75%acetone and use thin coats.

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12 hours ago, gee-dub said:

Walnut is one place that I use mild colorants.  I shoot for the color that walnut originally is when oil finished.  I do this simply to avoid the lightening that occurs in walnut over time.  This has caused me to bumble forward into adjusting some walnut that would otherwise be a bad match for a project to be of some use.  The point is that with some Transtint you can push material to everything from a subtle matching to a full blown sunburst guitar type look.

Understanding that I rarely "color" wood in the way we mostly think about stained finishes, critical to my arsenal are Transtint black, bright red, blue, lemon yellow and medium brown.  Browns come in a wide range of colors from mahogany "orange" to antique cherry "red" (almost black).  You can save some money by experimenting with a cheap water color set to find out if you need to push a brown dye towards red, blue or otherwise.

I have found this color wheel to be of value enough that I have gotten over the sting of paying $15 or $20 for it.

I look at the wheel and I didn't really get it at first. How does it work?

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20 hours ago, Brendon_t said:

Definitely. Trans tint medium brown does really well with evening it out without killing the beauty.

I usually use a 50/50 mix of Transtint Medium Brown and Dark Walnut to help even things out.

I am going to give Van Dyke crystals a try on this next project...(on a sample board first!).  Seems like a dye made from walnut husks should give a good walnut color!

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Coop, there is a way to darken walnut without admitting to the application of stain or dye.

Walnut, like many species, contains natural substances that can be reacted with various chemical solutions to change / enhance the natural color. I'm sure you've seen how iron acetate (vinegar & steel) solution darkens oak. It darkens walnut too, but leaves an unpleasant gray cast. Lye, however, deepens the natural chocolate brown of walnut. 

Here is a science experiment I conducted recently, painting each sample with a solution of sodium hydroxide (lye) obtained from dissolving drain cleaner crystals in water:

IMG_20180405_205817_593-01.thumb.jpeg.db64ad7ba4920708ab5f2be9a478c2c8.jpeg

L to R: Walnut, Mulberry, Red Oak, Cherry.

Lighter color is raw wood. This pic is while still wet, but the colors look the same a day later, and penetrate deep enough that mild sanding with 100 grit does not remove the color.

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1 hour ago, wtnhighlander said:

Coop, there is a way to darken walnut without admitting to the application of stain or dye.

Walnut, like many species, contains natural substances that can be reacted with various chemical solutions to change / enhance the natural color. I'm sure you've seen how iron acetate (vinegar & steel) solution darkens oak. It darkens walnut too, but leaves an unpleasant gray cast. Lye, however, deepens the natural chocolate brown of walnut. 

Here is a science experiment I conducted recently, painting each sample with a solution of sodium hydroxide (lye) obtained from dissolving drain cleaner crystals in water:

IMG_20180405_205817_593-01.thumb.jpeg.db64ad7ba4920708ab5f2be9a478c2c8.jpeg

L to R: Walnut, Mulberry, Red Oak, Cherry.

Lighter color is raw wood. This pic is while still wet, but the colors look the same a day later, and penetrate deep enough that mild sanding with 100 grit does not remove the color.

How concentrated was the solution?
The blotching on the cheery is that because of liquid drying there or is that the natural cherry blotch?
Have you applied this to an entire piece before? If so what was your application method?

I dig the oak color. I have a lot of oak left over from the kitchen cabinets i built and that color looks awesome. I also have a jug of solid lye and know that lye can be very dangerous.

 

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@Chestnut , I just mixed a few Drain-O (tm) crysyals, maybe 1/8 tsp, in about 2 ounces of water. Brushed onto the wood very wet. These wood scraps were not prepared in any way, just pulled straight out of my scrap bucket. Like Carus said, its just a fairly strong off the shelf cleaner. Standard precautions used, gloves and eyewear. Don't drink the solution.

A little research turned up a couple of other forums with posted experiments like this. One half to one teaspoon of dry crystals to one cup of water seemed to be a common ratio. Also, some discussion mentioned that you should wash the surface with diluted vinegar after a few minutes, to neutralize the lye. In every stated experiment, this caused the color to go dull and muddy. My thought is that allowing the solution to sit until it dries lets the lye work out its reactivity on the tannic acid in the wood, so neutralizing it isn't necessary.

The blotch on that stick of cherry is a rough spot in the grain. I didn't even sand the samples.

YMMV

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8 minutes ago, wtnhighlander said:

One more note: after completly drying, the colors all look like they do in the photo, except for mulberry. It went from the deep maroon-brown seen above to more chocolate brown.

Where did you get mulberry? I don't think I've ever seen that available where i live.

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