English Walnut Lime washed and sealed – Advice needed!!!

[Skagga5]

Hi Everyone

I bought an English walnut slab which i want to turn into a floating wall shelf for a countertop bathroom basin. Picture attached.

Being a complete novice to wood I was wondering what is the best way to "Lime wash" this slab so that I still have the grain character of the walnut but only slightly paler than what it currently is. I also have to seal it with a wax or something as this will be exposed to water every now and then, so any advice on this would be more than welcome.

I want to achieve a rustic type of lime washed/aged/shabby chic effect which is water resistant, similar to the attached picture.

Looking forward to your replies.

 

[Sgian Dubh]

Apply a coat of oil based polyurethane varnish thinned out considerably with white spirits. You'll know you've purchased this type of varnish because clean-up instructions will mention using white spirits or a proprietary brush cleaner - water based varnishes describe clean-up of brushes using water and detergent. Sand lightly with 220 grit abrasive paper. Get a tin of emulsion paint and brush on fairly lightly. Almost immediately get a coarse cloth and buff the paint off, finishing by burnishing with the grain. Let this dry thoroughly and apply a couple more coats of varnish.

You will end up with an effect similar to the one shown below, with the following differences:

1. The wood here is oak dyed blue/grey using ferrous sulphate.
2. The choice of emulsion paint lodged in the open grain is obviously not white or off white which is what you want.
3. The pores of walnut are smaller than they are in oak, so the effect will not be quite so strong.

Lastly, I recommended oil based varnish because you need something which can stand up to the rigours of a wet environment. This will do it far better than wax (which provides little or no protection), and the varnish will visually warm up the walnut by making it a bit darker. If you wish to retain the wood's colour better, substitute a water based varnish for the oil varnish, but this will tend to leave the walnut looking a bit 'cold', but that might be the effect you're after.

Lastly, experiment with a proposed finish prior to committing yourself. Slainte.

 

[Skagga5]

Hi

Many thanks for your detailed reply.... it seems there are many ways to skin a cat when it comes to "lime washing" wood.

This is probably a silly question, but I assume I have to let the initial coat of varnish to thoroughly dry out as well before sanding and applying the emulsion paint.

Just out of curiosity why do i need to paint a layer of the thinned out varnish first, what effect does this have on the wood.

Last question, do you think i should steel brush the wood or is this technique for more when you use real lime wash?

Regards

 

[Sgian Dubh]

Yes, let the varnish dry. If you don't apply a layer of varnish the subsequent paint layer lodges into more of the wood surface. Applying a layer of varnish creates a partial barrier which helps to delineate the flat surface of the wood from the open pores where the paint lodges, i.e., greater contrast between one type of wood surface and another. It depends what look you're after whether you apply a barrier layer of polish (varnish) first, or not. The wire brush technique is optional, and can be used with liming wax, grain filler or paint to achieve different grain filled, or partially grain filled effects. We've only touched upon a small section of wood finishing, and even here we've looked at a sub-set of wood finishing that involves grain filling agents and the various techniques available.

Assuming, perhaps wrongly, that this is pretty much your first foray into wood finishing I'd avoid getting too bogged down in advanced techniques that take a good deal of practice to master. I have provided a pretty simple method to achieve the kind of look you've described. Try it out on some offcuts, and if it gives the look you want, go with it. If not, come back and ask a few more questions. Slainte.