# Covering sapwood on walnut.



## Mahdeew (Jul 24, 2013)

I am building a desk and the top has a few line of sapwood I like to match with the rest of it. I have read not to put the stain on the wood directly rather apply wood conditioner or grain sealer to get a uniform color. Not knowing exactly what color grain sealer paste I need to get I am thinking a clear one but I am not sure stain will go over it uniformly after the sealer dries. Can I mix the stain to the sealer? Or will I get a better result from the conditioner? The last project I used the conditioner on (no sapwood, oak) tend to ooze out the stain for several days. 
Thanks


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## millforge (Sep 3, 2010)

I used to have good luck blending walnut sapwood by making stain from walnut husks (the soft green shell that turns black after they fall). The walnuts are on the ground right now, so get them before the snow or squirrels. Dry the husks and grind them up fine and mix with water to make a stain. Let stand for a day or more, then strain it through a cloth and apply only to the sapwood.


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## nick_name (Oct 4, 2015)

I've had really good results with walnut and sapwood by dying the entire piece with Transtint lemon yellow and then again with a mission brown or dark walnut. Taking the entire piece down to yellow (it looks terrible) establishes a base that eliminates the need to blend anything.


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## a1Jim (Aug 9, 2008)

Ditto nick_name


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## Mahdeew (Jul 24, 2013)

Thanks guys. So, do I apply this to the raw wood?


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## OSU55 (Dec 14, 2012)

I've had great results using Transtint (same color as used for the whole piece) mixed with DNA and sprayed on raw sapwood to blend it to the rest. I then use a WB stain base with Transtint to color the item, then tinted shellac to get the whole thing where I want it. Sometimes tint the topcoats to finish it off. Provides great depth to the finish.


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## Mahdeew (Jul 24, 2013)

OSU55, Thank you. I had filled the grain on Sunday, and last night after putting a coat of conditioner on it, applied a coat of stain. I will post a picture of it tomorrow for reference. The wood has a lot of waves to it and it might be impossible to get an even color on the whole thing. I plan on putting another coat of conditioner/stain on it today and see how it looks.


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## Mahdeew (Jul 24, 2013)

Here are the sap areas:









I think the sapwood is pretty much blended into the rest of it.










The wood grain direction changes in several area throughout the entire top. when I look at it from right to left I see a lot of dark areas but if I go to the other side and look, the dark area looks light and light areas look dark as the result of grain direction differential. I like this effect and worked with it in the past but not this profound. My thinking is with several coats of gloss topcoat, it will retard the effect somewhat. What do you think?

Here is an example:


















Another example:


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## OSU55 (Dec 14, 2012)

Something for you to experiment with is glue sizing as a stain conditioner. I use Elmer's Glue All mixed ~5 parts water 1 part glue. It is cheap and dries clear. Spread it on until absorption stops after a few minutes, then just wipe off and let dry. Lightly sand the raised grain and stain or dye. Any clear WB topcoat can be used also. Doesn't matter if it's a solvent or WB stain. For walnut apply color to the sapwood first. These WB conditioners are not time dependent - you can wait months if you want, unlike the solvent conditioners.


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## Mahdeew (Jul 24, 2013)

OSU55, interesting. I've heard using water based wood filler mixed with glue and water as well. I'll definitely try it.


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## ClammyBallz (Apr 16, 2015)

What stain did you use?
Please post pictures when you finish coating it.


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## Mahdeew (Jul 24, 2013)

I used Minwax dark walnut stain from Ace store. It has taken me over 180 cuts, 486 rasp passes, 486 file passes, and 486 more file passes so far to finish the tabletop edges. Now, I will be working on at least 12 coats of lacquer before putting the final coat on.


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