General Finishes EF Sanding Sealer is a high quality acrylic waterborne sanding sealer that builds fast and makes sanding smooth and easy. For wood with large, open grain, such as walnut or mahogany, sanding sealer is especially handy as a final fill after most of the grain has been evened out with grain filler.
The best finish for walnut is a clear one. Several coats of Danish oil provide clarity. For protection, add a compatible clear topcoat.
Applying sanding sealer is a vital step in finishing high-quality furniture and trim. Sanding sealer gives an added layer of protection to the wood and creates a nice smooth finish. It can be used on stained or unstained wood. Staining or leaving the wood natural is your first step in finishing.
Use a rag or shop towel to wipe off the excess, and work across the grain. Let it dry for 4 to 6 hours. Once it's dry, sand the surface smooth with 220-grit or 320 grit sand paper. Repeat the oil application, and perhaps move up to 400-grit wet/dry sandpaper on this coat.
Apply 1-2 coats. We recommend no more than 2 coats, then finish with 1-2 coats of topcoat. Hand Application: Apply a liberal amount of product using a synthetic bristle brush, foam brush, pad applicator, or roller.
A sanding sealer is not the same as a wood conditioner. Whereas a wood conditioner is a pre-stain treatment that reduces blotchiness when staining, a sanding sealer is applied only to bare wood that is not going to be stained.
“As for a sanding sealer, I usually just use shellac. Typically a 1 lb cut. There are two ways to do this. I either buy pre-mixed shellac (Bullseye SealCoat), and dilute it from 2lb cut to 1lb cut.
Woods such as oak, mahogany and walnut are characterized as having “open grain” because the wood pores are large. In contrast, “closed grain” woods like hard maple, cherry, poplar and beech have smaller pores. You don't have to fill the pores of any wood before applying a finish.
Paraffin wax, available in the canning section of your grocery store, is a great sealer for end grain cutting boards. While boiled linseed oil will cure to a solid, it would take many applications and a lot of drying time to seal the end grain enough to keep food juices from seeping in.
Species such as maple and walnut dry at an intermediate rate, ie a 1” walnut board air dried in the south in the summer time will dry in about 120 days, and species such as oak, mesquite, and hickory dry very slowly (ie 1” per year).
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.
How to Waterproof Wood With Oil. Linseed oil and Tung oil are the basis for nearly all hand-rubbed (aka wiping) oil finishes. Employed for centuries, these oils beautify and protect such dark-grained woods as walnut and mahogany, and they're still in use today—with a few improvements.
Sanding sealer can be used over many surfaces:
Raw wood: Use as the first coat when clear coating raw wood. Painted Wood: Use as the first coat when clear coating painted surfaces. Stained wood: Use as the first coat when clear coating a stained surface.
Ingestion May cause nausea, headache, dizziness and intoxication. Skin contact This product is rapidly absorbed through the skin and may cause symptoms similar to those of ingestion. Repeated exposure may cause skin dryness or cracking. Eye contact Causes serious eye damage.
Sand Down the Sealer: Once the sanding sealer has dried for at least an hour, sand it with a fine-grit (240 grit and up). Use the shop vacuum to remove the sanding sealer dust, followed by clean rags to clean up any remaining dirt. After cleaning off the dust, you can paint or clearcoat the surface.
Sanding sealer always must be sanded down smooth after it has dried. Sanding sealer helps improve the condition of subsequent coats of paint or clear finish by sealing the wood pores. With the wood pores sealed, the coating is able to spread out and cover the surface rather than being quickly soaked up.
The thin viscosity makes it easy to spread and allows it to penetrate into porous woods. To start apply 1 thin coat and allow it to dry. Lightly scuff sand to remove any raised grain fibers, then apply an additional 1 to 2 coats to seal wood and provide an excellent surface that will be ready to topcoat.
Finishing Walnut
The first step to showing off these grain patterns is to sand the wood properly. Hand sanding with the grain is the best way to massage this hardwood into bringing out its beautiful grain, working with progressively finer grits of sandpaper as you go.
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.
Easily damaged.
Walnut wood is not known for its density. Walnut flooring is softer than some other hardwood flooring and can dent, scratch, or scuff if not adequately cared for.