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.
The best finish for walnut is a clear one. Several coats of Danish oil provide clarity. For protection, add a compatible clear topcoat.
Moreover, stains tend to wash out the grain, removing bits of character. For this reason, a natural walnut wood product is rarely stained. Instead, walnut furniture tends to get a clear coat finish; either of some type of varnish, wax, oil, or lacquer.
Pros: Walnut is a very strong and stable wood that can take intricate carving. The color can be beautiful. Cons: Some may not like the variation from dark to light that's sometimes found on a single wide board. Walnut is also one of the more costly woods.
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.
As for the staining, if it's a bad case, you're just going to be stuck with it for a while. “The pigmentation is semi-permanent. It just has to wear off and it can take a long time to fade.”
The culprit behind turning your hands black is juglone. Juglone is a toxin that is found in walnut trees and walnuts. The staining from this compound can take up to three months to be removed. There are some methods you can try to speed up the process.
Generally speaking, the more porous a wood is, the better it will take stain. Oak, for example, has very large pores so it will stain quite easily. Cedar is also well known for its ability to take stain. Other woods that are commonly used with stain include ash and chestnut.
Dark Walnut stains look great with other dark colors, like plums, blues, greens, and dark reds. Alternatively, lighter colors like off-white, light grays, and other neutral shades can pleasantly contrast the eyes. Don't be afraid to mix different shades of stained wood and different types of wood in a room.
Walnut is lovely wood, especially when carefully air dried so as to preserve the rich chocolate, purple and black tones in the best of it. HOWEVER, It fades like mad in sunlight. Furniture is touched by sunlight. Therefore, the lovely colors of the walnut go away — and it doesn't take centuries.
Alder, poplar, red gum, oak, or mahogany can also be stained to resemble walnut. However, no two types of wood are identical. Even if you successfully stain your chosen wood to imitate walnut, the grain and pore structure will vary slightly. If you're looking for wood similar to walnut, acacia is the answer.
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.
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.
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.
Walnut wood can change color depending on the way it's dried or its age. The heartwood usually is a dark brown color and the sapwood is a light yellow color. When the wood is left out in the elements, such as the sun, the lighter wood will turn darker and the darker wood will turn lighter.
Bleached walnut. Sometimes you want to make wood lighter than it is in its raw state. This is common when trying to match the wood to something that already exists. The way to do it is to first bleach out the color of the wood, then apply a stain, if necessary, to achieve the match.
“Walnut has a warm undertone; it deepens and becomes richer and darker within the first year,” notes Laura. Walnut is becoming a top choice for several reasons. “So many people love the modern look but don't want it to appear cold.
Walnut and oak, while both premier cabinet wood species, can come at significantly different price points. Walnut will almost always be more expensive than oak. That's because walnut is not as populous, which results in it being harder to source and more expensive.
Walnut is rated at a 1010 on the Janka Hardness Scale. European Oak is a 1360 on the same scale. This means that Oak is more durable than Walnut and will stand up better against constant use and daily wear and tear. Walnut isn't the best flooring choice for high-traffic areas of the home.
The cheapest wood to stain would typically be a softwood such as pine, spruce, or fir. These types of wood are widely available, relatively inexpensive, and absorb stain well, which can result in a nice finish.