5 Different Finishes, 5 Different Results [Walnut Edition]

Thanks for sharing.

I'm curious why you used the conversion varnish EM8000 instead of the EM6000 waterborne lacquer?
Great video!

Very useful thank you for doing this!

Thank you.

Can you do the same test for maple?

Guys like us will spend 5 hours researching the perfect walnut finish product and procedure, know all the subtle differences, and then not notice the difference in our wives nail polish when they ask us which shade is better, because there is no difference.

dude talks alot

so after you apply the finish 3 times, you sand with 220 after each coat? and even for the final coat? -thanks

So ...my question is what or how do you fix either the Enduro or the EM8000 when you get a deep scratch that you can feel with your nail...??? Which of the two finishes is a harder or more durable finish???? Thanks, nice video, well done.

Super helpful video! Thanks 😊

Really liked that emtech flat w sealer. What a beautiful brown finish.

Really nice table. I am just about to finidh a new maple shaker kitchen doors, what is the best prodcut I can use? Rubio of Emtech?

Lovely work. Did you do any grain raising prior to the initial sanding? Trying to test some processes for a walnut snare drum build I'm doing. Absolutely love referencing this video for a pretty detailed but step by step process. Good work!

It's really hard for me to make heads or tails out of this because the side facing you looks like it has saw marks on all the pieces which makes the bottom half look darker but I don't really know if that's what I'm seeing because of marks? I'm watching this on a 30 inch TV screen so I have a clear view and I'm sorry to say but I came out of this with nothing and I'm really into different types of finishes in my stage of woodworking.

Shellac is non-toxic- big win. It is easy to work with. No need to sand in between. Just sand once using 150-220 max grit. French polish will make it pop. Each layer of shellac melts into the previous one so sanding in between is a waste of time unless you spot a major issue or imperfect you want to correct. Otherwise, it just removes material and wastes time and adds more steps. the higher grit, e.g., 220 will result in a lighter finish. Lower grits like 150 will open pours and allow more shellac to get into the pours of the wood. It can darken the wood a bit and bring out some nice details.

Rubio Monocoat Chocolate looks good on walnut if you want to tone down the orange look.

you used Rubio walnut color on walnut wood. of course it didn't look much different. use walnut color on a lighter wood and then I think you'll start to understand how color tinting works.

Divide the board lengthwise to compare like grains.

The amount of money invested in Festool is unreal holy crap lol. Great video though!

Have you done the comparison on cherry wood yet? I'm struggling with how to finish a cherry wood hutch. Thanks.

I would love to see this comparison done using some oil finishes such as BLO, tung oil, danish oil, etc. Also, with and without shellac like you just did. Great video though!

Where do you buy your walnut? Which dimensions were those?

Have you done this with different wood species?

How can show a client those samples when your client’s piece is a completely different piece of walnut?

Nice - Thanks!
Do you maybe have any ideas on what finish i can use on a just sanded piece of dark wood? I want to keep the natural slightly dull shade and don't want that deep dark grain enhancing warmness that oil gives. I want it to look likes it been just sanded/cut but then be slightly protected from UV or oxidation etc... Any ideas? it's a display cabinet so very low wear. So far I'm thinking water based polyurethane...

Thank you for this!! I’m about to build walnut vanities for my master bathroom, and have been wondering about the finish. General Finishes is my go to brand (I prefer the high performance topcoat in a flat finish) and based on your test, the General Finishes was my favorite. Looks like I’m sticking with that! But this made me fell so much more confident to move forward. Thank you!

When your scrap pile contains fiddleback walnut.

Great idea on resawing the same board. I've used CV finishes, but they required mixing of an activator . Does the Target CV come premixed ?

Excited to see the finish comparison on cherry

I thought(from reading a few sources) the waterbased ones are not designed to take anything else like a shellac over them, as they are so the wood doesnt yellow from UV over time with woods exposed to the sun from windows, etc. I actually like the Varathane Satin that you mention looks milky, as I like a lighter look. I also like the slight amber...Also like Emtech 8000 Flat....though i rather brush :-)

Great comparison 👌

Jack. Skeuse.
Fantastic video. Thank you for making comparisons on Walnut. Everything I do is in Walnut and I completed a 4‘ x 10‘ kitchen table for my son and his wife. I used water based Varethane without a sanding sealer. After two years I was disappointed that the walnut faded in normal kitchen lighting. Can you give us some guidance on a finish that has a UV. Thank you.

Hello,

Im doing my first woodworking project a computer desk top from glued maple board (3/4" thick) and trimmed in purple heart ( 1-3/8 x 1-5/8 to give a thicker wood illusion).
What would you recommend for preserving the purple heart natural colour as long as possible I'm interested in the rubio but worried about further oxidisation and uv light effect on the desk. Mind you this will be going in a basement with decent amount of natural light but it should not see direct sunlight or at least not much of it. Should i be looking into lacquer instead for it uv proetection or possibly rubio hybrid or osmo outside version.

Also I would like to thickenthe mapple by glueing/screwing on a 1/4 peice of plywood under would this prevent or promote possible cupping. This will all be screw down a height adjustable steel base. By adding the plywood I would be able to use those thread insert without it 'im stuck using regular wood screws.

This demonstration and your previous rubio table restoration video were great help.

Enjoyed the video. I find side by side finish tests very satisfying.

No grain filler used eh? Surfaces look very smooth without.

I really enjoyed this video. Really well done and helpful. Thank you.

May please request that you add Maple? Thank you!

Great vid, have you tried the Rubio universal maint. oil, by itself. I first tried it on some figured walnut, I put 5 coats being a little less aggressive with the wipe off on the last coats. Came out amazing.

I have a 70x40 dining room table I’m going to be making from 8/4 walnut soon - this was very timely for me as we have been using the Varathane Poly clear on all our kitchen cabinets (because we knew no better being newbies at this stuff) - it turned out ok but I want the table to be stunning since it will be seen from the living room and kitchen… I will try spraying some of the Emtech coatings on a test piece and see how it comes out!

I’ve been using Emtech products for 5 years now and have struggled with all of them with walnut and cherry. I’ve tried their clear stain base, their shellac, their sanding sealer, as well as Seal Coat dewaxed shellac with unsatisfactory results. I finally stumbled on how to get the warmth of oil based finishes with a waterborne topcoat, Old Master Natural Tint Base, the oil version. Just wipe on a thin coat and wipe it off immediately, no waiting. Let it dry overnight, wipe it down with denatured alcohol and water, then spray the EM8000 over it. I guarantee you will love the results and because it’s a stain base rather than a straight oil, there are no adhesion problems with just an overnight cure time as long as the temp and humidity are correct.

Great info. Thank you! Not many people spraying these days. Would be great to see you spray a finish, your gun set up, your spray environment etc. I spray some finishes but it is quite a learning curve. Hope to see you make a video on it. Love your channel!

Great video! Looking forward to your tests on other types of wood.

Would be nice to include a small test on durability or water resistance between them.

Nice video but what about scratch resistance and general wear? How about the ease of recoating? Hard to spray finish in someones's house. Maybe a penetrating oil finish has an advantage there? I find General's oil base gel coat is quite amazing for everything but kitchen cabinets. There is a huge difference if you're dong a table or kitchen cabinets. With cabinets, you absolutely have to have a finish resistant to water and stains.

Really good video. I've never fallen in love with rubio because is makes everything look orange to me.

Great video, How long does rubio last on a kitchen table? Does the maintenance oil help? Maybe it’s a dumb question. I normally just use poly but wanted to branch out. I’ll also try a sanding seal on my next poly project. It made a difference. Thanks.

Got some target coatings on the way. Tried some sanding sealer and their urethane finish. Also ordered some of their cross linker

You mentioned wanting to, “kid proof” or at least make the table more resistant to kids. Cam over at Blacktail started using a ceramic protectant from Black Forest studios. This treatment works like the new ceramic waxes for cars. He claims to have really good results so far.

Great video, all my tables get Mohawk Conversion Varnish. I find it is the toughest finish out there for wear and tear on table tops. Sweaty soda cans, hot dinner plates do not effect this finish. I only use the solvent base type because its fast and easy. Typically a sealer coat, sand with 320 and then 2 fine coats and you are done.

This was a great video, thanks. I really like the idea of resawing a piece and using the same board for all the tests. I'll use that in the future. 45 years ago, when I was a teenager in high school woodshop class, picking a finish was easy. Everything, and I mean everything at that time was a sprayed lacquer finish. Today there are so, so many choices. Table tops are a special animal in that most customers are looking for a more durable finish. Woodworkers themselves would probably opt for an easy repairable finish for their own personal table tops, but I think most others would pick a more durable finish. That leaves out the oil/non film finishes like tung oil, danish oil, etc. With a basement shop, if I want to use a spay finish, it has to be done in my detached garage in warmer weather. That being said, you can get great results these days with a wipe on finish. My go to for a lot of my work is Waterlox which is a resin modified tung oil. With covid this year, I build a lot of new shop cabinets and finished them all with Waterlox (three coats). It does develop a film finish that has proved to be durable enough for things being dragged across the tops. For some furniture pieces I also do a fair amount of shellac. I just finished a walnut box and tried Osmo (hard wax oil) finish for the first time. For that project I was pleased with the results.