Durable but natural looking finish for Walnut dining table?

[Andy-C]

Hi folks,

I know this kind of question has been asked a thousand times, but I have to ask because my head is awash with different opinions from trawling the internet looking for the right wood finish.

I am making a Walnut dining table, and when I come to finish it, I need a finish that is two things...
1. Durable: as it's a dining table, it will get wear and tear. Ideally I don't want to be in a situation where it needs to be refinished/repaired again and again.
2. Natural looking: that looks as if the timber is bare and unfinished (or as close to this as possible with commonly available products). I don't mind if the timber colour becomes a little richer, but I don't want the surface to have any kind of sheen, or apparent film layer.

My understanding is this...
Wax is not an option because of its durability - it's susceptible to wear and also moisture.
I've used water-based matt varnish in the past, but it leaves a plasticky look to the surface. I've read that thinning the varnish and applying just a couple of thin coats will give a less plastic look - any thoughts on this?

So, I'd appreciate suggestions about what products would achieve this type of finish - please let me know what kind of experience you've had with what you're suggesting!

Many thanks,

Andy.

 

[ED65]

My understanding is this...
Wax is not an option because of its durability - it's susceptible to wear and also moisture.

By itself yes. Wax is the solftest and least durable of all finishes. Generally best to rely on it only as a surface polish when it comes to furniture.

I've used water-based matt varnish in the past, but it leaves a plasticky look to the surface.

In addition to that surface look many users are not a fan of water-bourne finishes on walnut because there's a tendency for the wood to end up with a slightly grey or blue cast.

I've read that thinning the varnish and applying just a couple of thin coats will give a less plastic look - any thoughts on this?

This is generally best relied on for oil-based finishes. You can thin anything a little amount and get away with it but if you want a really dilute clear finish then it's best not to do this if you'd be diluting with water.

Thinning works very well on standard poly and other varnishes though so if you don't mind their level of enrichment of the colour of the walnut this is a super way of applying them. And even using gloss varnishes wiping on naturally keeps the sheen lower and this can be further dulled down as desired after drying with a little light abrasion.

 

[woodbrains]

Hello,

I'm afraid you have asked for the impossible! Durability only comes with a film forming finish and that is something which never looks bare wood natural. It is about getting a balance of an acceptable level of coating to impart some resistance to surface scuffing, without making the wood look totally false. Oil or a wiping varnish followed by wax is nice, but it will require some care of the table in use. A tablecloth when dining is a good solution!

By the way, don't dilute (brushable) water borne varnishes more than a little bit. Only oil varnish takes thinning enough to give the thin effect you want, but they lose durability when doing so. It is a trade off.

Mike.

 

[AndyT]

Osmo Polyx is what I would use. Easy to apply by brush or rag. Usefully heat and moisture proof.
Expensive but economical in use.

 

[custard]

please let me know what kind of experience you've had with what you're suggesting!

That's a very sensible requirement, this forum is no different from any other in that it's full of people who are long on opinion but short on actual experience!

When it comes to finishing Walnut you've got a few issues to consider,

-American Black Walnut is almost always steamed, which reduces the contrast between sap and heartwood but dulls the grain, leaving it a bit flat and lifeless. An oil finish would help bring back some of that vitality.

-Walnut is notorious for fading in sunlight, the real solution is keep it away from south facing windows, but if you have no choice then you may want to consider a table cloth or buying a few extra years with a UV screen finish. A permanent vase or table display will leave a dark witness shadow underneath within a few months.

-As Woodbrains said finishing is pretty much always a compromise, and a tablecloth really helps to re-calibrate that compromise in your favour. IMO it also makes sense to factor in the ease of subsequent re-finishing.

-Walnut is one of the "coolest" toned of all the timbers, this is true for both European Walnut and American Walnut. Many people prefer to see it warmed up slightly, which can be achieved with an oil based finish.

-Walnut is very open grained, without a filler it will never be high gloss and always seems to be slightly duller than you'd expect from any given finish. Having said that, as a general rule most water bourne finishes are a bit softer, and matt finishes also tend to be softer on account of the flattening agents. Consequently a matt water based pu finish will likely burnish in use and result in more shine than you want, that's certainly been my experience after making and finishing many, many pieces of furniture over many years.

Factoring all of the above I'd suggest getting a small sample sachet of Matt Osmo and trying that out on some scrap or on the underside of your table. You could try it against an alternative oil finish and see which you prefer, but if you do that I'd strongly recommend putting a red wine glass on both with some wine around the foot, and seeing what they look like after twenty or thirty minutes. It's that kind of test that has prompted me, and many other full time professional furniture makers, to include Osmo as part of their finishing armouries.

Incidentally, this is an American Walnut chair I made finished in Matt Osmo.

And here's a sobering reminder of red wine staining from a series of tests I ran. If you want to avoid film finishes then Osmo will still give a decent level of stain protection, it's still not perfect but it should buy you a twenty or thirty minute grace period to wipe up any spillage which is more than you'll get from the majority of other non-film finishes.

 

[custard]

Incidentally, this is the results from one of a series of fade tests I ran.

The bottom right timber is Black Walnut. The right hand side of all the samples has a UV screen finish. The bottom half was protected, the top half was exposed in a south facing window. This is after just two months of insipid British sunshine. Roll on a couple of years and the UV filter will break down (unless you're using one of the uber expensive, spray only concoctions) and that too will have faded.

I bet that table cloth is sounding even more appealing!

 

[Andy-C]

Thanks Custard, some pretty sound advice there. I'd been looking for a picture of the matt Osmo so your chair picture is great!

Andy.

 

[Bm101]

I saw this variety when buying some Osmo hardwax for my floor recently, It's supposed to leave the wood as 'natural as possible'. http://www.osmouk.com/sitechapter.cfm?c ... 2#PolyxRaw
I have no idea if it would be suitable for what you need (possibly not, it has white pigment added to it) but maybe some more knowledgeable can shed some light on it? I'd be interested to know myself tbh.
Cheers
Chris

 

[custard]

I saw this variety when buying some Osmo hardwax for my floor recently, It's supposed to leave the wood as 'natural as possible'. http://www.osmouk.com/sitechapter.cfm?c ... 2#PolyxRaw
I have no idea if it would be suitable for what you need (possibly not, it has white pigment added to it) but maybe some more knowledgeable can shed some light on it? I'd be interested to know myself tbh.
Cheers
Chris

It's such a subjective area, but for what it's worth I tried that particular white pigment version of Osmo and personally I didn't think it was all that great.

Yes, from the other side of the room it's reasonably effective at disguising the tendency all oil based finishes have to impart an amber tone to pale timbers, but close up it looked a bit artificial, at least to my eye. However, small sachets of Osmo aren't expensive, and they provide an easy way to evaluate the products for yourself.

 

[Jacob]

Neat raw linseed oil is cheap, easy to apply, very durable and attractive on darker woods.
Rub it in very thinly and allow several days to dry for first coat, less for later ones.
It will polish up very nicely once it's hardened and is very water and heat resistant - within reason.
It's also a brilliant reviver for old darker timbers such as oak and mahogany.

As with so many trad techniques/materials there is a strong bias towards anything new, improved, techie sounding, magic ingredients, but don't be taken in - oil alone is excellent!

 

[Bm101]

Thanks Custard