# how do i fix a blotchy finish on walnut (pics included in the post)



## shoichi (Jan 15, 2016)

i have a piece of walnut that i finished but looks terrible.. this is bad news because this piece is a gift that i am supposed to deliver in 5 days. the pics will show what the problem is: you can see towards the top that are spots of blotchy… looks as if enough oil did not sink into the wood.

what i did was i had oiled it with BLO, let it dry for a week then put a layer of watco's walnut danish oil with a rag… let that dry for about a day..is there a way to mask this? i tried another coat of danish oil but still shows… i am thinking maybe i should have sealed it with shellac before putting the danish oil. terrible mistake but lesson learned…

what do i do now? below are some photos of the piece.

http://postimg.org/image/jjrwx39qd/
http://postimg.org/image/uxwn51n0t/

Edit: I forgot to add in the original post that I did apply one layer of dewaxed shellac as the last coat. Everyone is suggesting more coats. I hope the shellac won't prevent penetration in the later costs


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## Pezking7p (Nov 17, 2013)

Just needs more coats. End grain is thirsty.


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## gfadvm (Jan 13, 2011)

Picture doesn't really show me the blotching as bad as you see. BUT I agree that you need to keep wiping on more coats.


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## TheFridge (May 1, 2014)

More coats


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## shoichi (Jan 15, 2016)

I forgot to add in the original post that I did apply one layer of dewaxed shellac as the last coat. Everyone is suggesting more coats. I hope the shellac won't prevent penetration in the later costs


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## OSU55 (Dec 14, 2012)

I don't see blotchy. What I see is most of the surface has a thin film providing some sheen, then the spots were no film exists yet on the surface. More coats should fix it. Focus on the dull spots. keep them wet for 20 minutes or more. View in a raking light, use a brush, and just keep adding a bit of watco until it sits on the surface with no more absorption, then wipe off as normal. You can keep wetting the surface indefinitely and still wipe off. You may need to do some light wet sanding with 600-800.


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## shoichi (Jan 15, 2016)

> I don t see blotchy. What I see is most of the surface has a thin film providing some sheen, then the spots were no film exists yet on the surface. More coats should fix it. Focus on the dull spots. keep them wet for 20 minutes or more. View in a raking light, use a brush, and just keep adding a bit of watco until it sits on the surface with no more absorption, then wipe off as normal. You can keep wetting the surface indefinitely and still wipe off. You may need to do some light wet sanding with 600-800.
> 
> - OSU55


the damn problem now i have is that the danish oil won't dry.. it's been almost two days since the last coat and it still feels sticky tot he touch.. i am waiting for it to dry so i can apply another coat… i really hope the shellac i put on would not prevent the next coats from sinking in and evening out the unequal absorption of the previous coats


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## OSU55 (Dec 14, 2012)

Might try wet sanding with the oil. You cant leave much oil on the surface or it wont dry. The shellac will reduce oil absorption but not drying.


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