You can apply boiled linseed oil or oil-based varnish directly to the raw wood, which will make it much darker, or you can apply a stain. Which stain you choose will control the final color, but it's still likely to be rather monochromatic.
The kernel of a young, only torn walnut has a light color, after lying for several days, the kernel it darkens a little. This is a natural and normal process. After drying, the kernel takes on its permanent color.
Yes, Walnut does accept stain and dyes well in the sense that it does not suffer from blotchiness nor does it specifically require pre-stain conditioners. It is obviously a dark color to begin with which does limit the range of stain colors you can apply to it.
You can apply boiled linseed oil or oil-based varnish directly to the raw wood, which will make it much darker, or you can apply a stain. Which stain you choose will control the final color, but it's still likely to be rather monochromatic.
Smokey Hills is a rich, graphite gray cabinet stain on Walnut, with slightly warm undertones. Smokey Hills on Walnut is available on these door styles: Adagio. Aldon.
Apply a very diluted dye in a color of your choice to the entire piece, heartwood and sapwood. Two nice choices could be Behlen Solar-Lux™ Medium Brown Walnut color or American Walnut color.
Tung oil varnish is a highly popular oil-based finish for walnut that offers excellent durability and water resistance, while simultaneously enhancing the natural beauty of the wood without significantly altering its hue. This type is chosen by many as the best oil finish for walnut.
Jacobean is very similar to Dark Walnut but a bit darker. Jacobean gives off a more rustic vibe than dark walnut. Additionally, Jacobean has a subtle hint of redness to the dried product. However, tints and undertones are also impacted by the type of wood used, which will vary with every application.
Walnut is a darker wood with shades that range from pale browns to dark browns.
Of the primary woods Chilton offers, walnut is the most different in its aging process. Rather than darkening over time, walnut begins as a beautiful, rich dark brown color and over time will gradually lighten, taking on notes of honey throughout.
The Black Walnut is one of the most expensive and lucrative trees to sell, thanks to its high-quality dark wood. The tree ranges from $5- $10 per board foot, although it can cost more depending on other factors. In most cases, your 20-inch tree can fetch you $700- $800.
Reminiscent of dark cocoa and coffee beans, Dark Walnut embraces the shadowy hues of black and brown. Woodgrain appears etched with charcoal, creating a sultry dance where light and dark meet. The darkness of this shade draws your eye out and makes spaces seem more expansive.
New walnut has a consistent dark-brown color but as it gets older, two changes occur. 1: Unlike maple and cherry, it gets lighter. 2: A rich honey color starts to come through the grain.
Oak has a light to middle brown colour with some reddish hues, complimented by a straight and tight grain pattern. Walnut can range anywhere from a light brown to a deep, dark chocolate hue. Though its grain is very open and more coarse than maple, walnut still has a beautiful, uniform surface.
I prefer a varnish/oil blend on walnut. I will sometimes use a weak dye to brown up sapwood but this is a rare exception. We have some finishing guru's on here that can probably give you the straight deal on WB products. If you like the look of walnut, don't stain it.
Is wood conditioner necessary? Wood conditioner is not necessary. You can stain perfectly fine without it. However, as you will see with my test pieces below, using a pre stain conditioner results in smoother finishes, especially when using dark wood stain colors on light, soft woods.
Hand sanding works best: Walnut, although easy to work with, can be difficult to finish. To help bring out the amazing grain patterns in walnut, hand sanding works best. Simply use finer grits of sandpaper as you go along to get a smooth finish that showcases the beautiful grain patterns walnut is known for.
You might pair Cordovan Brown with Blank Canvas—a soft, warm white—which Behr chose as its 2023 Color of the Year for interiors. The paint firm PPG also chose a deep brown stain as its 2023 Stain Color of the Year: Chestnut Brown. The rich brown tones may be part of the resurgence of 1970s design styles.
Jacobean is very similar to Dark Walnut but slightly darker.
Sometimes during the finishing process we use water to 'pop' the grain before final sanding to help achieve a smoother finished surface. It also gives you a sneak peak into what the piece will look like when the finish is applied.
If you like the look of an oil finish, consider trying tung oil varnish. This finish gives walnut a dark yet warm color, and if you choose to apply it by wet-sanding, this too can fill the grain as above.
He adds that it could take weeks all the way to two to three months for the staining to wear off.
The natural color of walnut comes through. Black Walnut is usually straight grained with a moderately coarse, uniform texture. It has rich dark brown heartwood, and nearly white sapwood. The overall color is a dark brown color with hints of grey, black, and even blue swirled out of the luxurious grain.