finish for burr veneer walnut box

[archpa]

Hi

I'm making a jewellry box which is veneered in a walnut burr veneer. This is my first attempt at veneering, and using extramite to glue the veneer seems to be bonding well and setting nice and hard.

The burr veneer has a few small cracks/imperfections which in some cases have allowed a tiny amount of glue to come through to the external surface. In other cases it is more like small pitting on the surface.

I'm not sure if sanding it will remove these imperfections or if it's advisable to use some sort of grain filler (never done this before).

Once sanded, I'm thinking of keeping the finish simple using Danish oil, since I think an oiled finish would be better than a varnish, but don't feel like trying to master the art of french polish on this project!

Any advice/comments on what grain filler (if any) I should consider would be appreciated. Also should I be concerned about the extramite which has seeped through the cracks, or will this sand clean? Will Danish oil give a pleasing finish? - generally any advice would be very much appreciated!

Many thanks to everybody on this forum - You are certainly a great bunch of people with an incredible amount of knowledge!

Kind regards

Paul

 

[Sgian Dubh]

Paul, the answer to the glue seep-through element is probably that even with sanding a polish might very well highlight the glue. It will glare back at you, particularly on horizontal surfaces. It may do nothing of the sort of course and the danish oil will do nothing to to reveal the glue seepage.

One common solution is to use a glue-wash. Basically, just mix up more of the same glue and thin it with water to about 20% of its normal strength. Stick a rag in this sloppy mess and spread it over the surface. Wait a short while and wipe it off leaving just a thin glue layer to dry. Now all of the surface has glue in it and will polish up the same after sanding.

Danish oil is varnish. It's just that there aren't many resins in the mix compared to regular varnish. It is easy to apply though, relatively speaking, and should create an attractive finish if you follow the instructions on the can.

It would a good idea if you can manage it to make up a sample board using an offcut of the same veneer and do a run through of your planned finishing procedure. This at least would let you know what you're likely to expect on your actual box.

Grain filling is an option, but if you're new to this malarkey, then perhaps sticking to a fairly simple routine would be a good place to start, i.e., glue wash, scrape, sand to about 220 grit, and slap on some danish oil. Danish oil due to the linseed oil element does mark walnut rather attractive looking. Not the most durable finish in the world, but still likely to be a fairly good choice. Slainte.