# Garnet shellac and arm-r-seal on walnut dining table, anything else?



## SMP (Aug 29, 2018)

I picked up some garnet shellac flakes and experimented on some scrap walnut. I will be building a new kitchen island/dining table soon. In my travel trailer I made a walnut table and only used Arm-r-seal, and its fine for the camper that gets used a few times per year. But for this dining table for the house I wanted to step it up a bit. I also want to even out the sapwood, but without dyeing or staining it to an unnatural look like I have seen. I've read about people using BLO before shellac, but not sure if that's a waste of time if top coating with Arm-r-seal? I've found that 1 coat of 2# garnet shellac and 3 coats of Armrseal looks about the same as just the arm-r-seal, but 2-3 coats of shellac followed by the satin Armrseal really makes the wood pop and has a really nice color, my wife agrees on the color. Now with this the sapwood is still much lighter but a little less stark than just Armrseal. I would also like to fill the grain a bit. So was thinking maybe a grain filler stained to a dark walnut would maybe tone the sapwood down even more and give a smoother finish? If so, at what stage should this be applied? Between the shellac and arm-r-seal? Any other advise or techniques people have used to bring out the grain and color of walnut and give a warm but protective, smooth finish to a dining table?

Thanks in advance
Steve


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## RichT (Oct 14, 2016)

Regarding the sapwood, dye works well since you can start with a very diluted dye and continue to apply it until you get the color you want.


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## msinc (Jan 8, 2017)

I just completed a walnut dining room table for my own personal use. I tried Minwax sanding sealer for filling the grain and I definitely don't recommend that. It had to be removed and I dropped back to the old standby I learned in high school…walnut sanding dust mixed with poly and mineral spirits. It will do a very nice job of filling the pores. It leaves a nice color and evens out any sapwood without turning the entire table dark. The addition of a second coat really doesn't do anything. It wont make the wood darker. Hard to get the light right at night, but here are a few photos of the finished table:


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## Blindhog (Jul 13, 2015)

I have found that using dye followed with shellac and then Arm-R-Seal provides a great finish for a dining room table.
As always, testing the dye (color and/or dilution) on a piece of scrap can save a BUNCH of time and grief. Might want to check out some of Charles Neil "trace coating" videos on YouTube, he is THE man when it comes to finishes.
Good luck with your project.


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## Dark_Lightning (Nov 20, 2009)

> I just completed a walnut dining room table for my own personal use. I tried Minwax sanding sealer for filling the grain and I definitely don t recommend that. It had to be removed and I dropped back to the old standby I learned in high school…walnut sanding dust mixed with poly and mineral spirits. It will do a very nice job of filling the pores. It leaves a nice color and evens out any sapwood without turning the entire table dark. The addition of a second coat really doesn t do anything. It wont make the wood darker. Hard to get the light right at night, but here are a few photos of the finished table:
> 
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> 
> ...


That is GORGEOUS! I'll have to re-remember that slurry trick.


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## SMP (Aug 29, 2018)

Thanks all, I may pickup some transtint at the local shop. I was going to get some reddish brown to test some arts and crafts finish on some QSWO, but I wonder if that is too red for walnut.


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