Replies

1. 
   Danford_C._Jennings | Dec 31, 2001 02:36am | #1

   *
   Jerry,

   I think that would be a matter of taste. Personally, I try to avoid the use of stains entirely. I use them only in special circumstances and have never used stain on Walnut. FWIW.

   Dano

1. 
   Rob_Millard | Dec 31, 2001 03:37am | #2

   *Walnut will indeed lighten over time, taking on a nice golden brown color, but with todays kiln dried lumber, this takes a long time. As Danford said, it is a personal choice, to stain or not. I alter the color of nearly everything I make, but I very rarely if ever use stains, as they a nothing more than thin paint, and obscure the grain. I have had excellent results (in other words, sales) by dyeing walnut orange, and then using oil tinted with golden brown Trans Tint dye. I know that orange sounds crazy, but it works wonders on steamed walnut, which has a very cold color. I have attached a photo of a walnut William and Mary Lowboy leg, I made a few months ago, finished as described above.

1. 
   Bill_Lindau | Jan 07, 2002 06:13am | #3

   *Rob, do you use TransTint to dye it orange? Did you finish the Lowboy leg with shellac? I really like that look.Bill

1. 
   Rob_Millard | Jan 08, 2002 03:24pm | #4

   *Bill,I used the water-soluble Trans fast dye, because I had it on hand, but the Trans Tint dyes are great too. I used the Tried and True varnish oil on the lowboy, and it turned out nice. I won’t use the T&T again, because it takes too long to build up. I should have applied the oil to enhance the grain, and then thin shellac to provide the sheen. At the time, I thought a high gloss finish wouldn’t be appropriate, for this piece, so I picked the oil, but carefully applied shellac could have achieved the same look in far less time.