Finishing Walnut Burl?

[Plowboy]

Hi All,

I've been woodworking for over 25 years, but have only been turning pens for a few months. I have successfully used CA on just about every type of wood I've tried so far, but I've been recently trying to finish some walnut burl and have had a terrible time getting it polished without sanding through. I've tried a few in polyurethane with a little better success, but sill am not achieving the results that I want. I suspect that it's related to the grain structure of the burl and the fact that it doesn't absorb the finish as well as non-burl wood does.

Does anyone have any tips?

Thanks.

Charlie

 

[jttheclockman]

Charlie all woods will accept CA it is a glue. It depends on your method. What CA are you using?? How many coats are you applying. How are you finishing. Wet sanding to me is the best method. Just need to be careful to seal the ends too. What are you using to finish?? What grits if using sandpaper. Should never have to go below 600 or even 800 if you need to sand CA finish.

 

[Plowboy]

Charlie all woods will accept CA it is a glue. It depends on your method. What CA are you using?? How many coats are you applying. How are you finishing. Wet sanding to me is the best method. Just need to be careful to seal the ends too. What are you using to finish?? What grits if using sandpaper. Should never have to go below 600 or even 800 if you need to sand CA finish.

I'm using Stick Fast medium CA glue which is what I've used on other woods with no problem. I have been applying 6 coats and then wet sand from 1500 up to 12,000 which I initially tried. I also tried skipping some of the lower grits as well as moving straight to polishing without any sanding. I had sand through in all cases. The only thing that I've found that gets close is 4 coats of poly and then polishing.

 

[EBorraga]

This is walnut with 7 coats of clear fast drying Poly. Walnut

 

[jttheclockman]

There is no way you should sand through 6 coats of med CA unless you are sanding the heck out of it. Now some woods will absorb more CA due to open grain so more coats maybe needed. I like to use about 2 to 3 coats of thin to seal the wood before I use med. It flows better into crevices. Med will just sit on top. Not much more I can say. I have done rosewood burls and others and had no problems. I do use Satellite CA.