# Prepping Walnut Burl Veneer for finishing?



## Nickbee (Nov 1, 2007)

Hey Guys!!!

Thanks to some direction here and from veneer supplies.com I figured out what I’m doing for glue and my walnut burl veneer. I ordered some dark “better bond” from here:

http://www.veneersupplies.com/default.php?cPath=86_40&osCsid=bb6efbfb13b44735d21aa380b4bcb5fd

I’m getting ready to start gluing my 1/8” ply panels this week. Since this is going to be a rail / stile / panel project I want to prep my panels for finishing before I cut my groves in the rails / stiles so I can measure for a snug final fit. 

How would you typically prep Walnut burl for finishing? Would just a few light passes of 220 do it? In “Veneering, a foundation course” he mentions grain fillers. But I guess that’s a matter of preference and how smooth you want the final finish? I know I do want a satin natural finish. I was thinking just a few coats of natural Danish oil for this project. Some direction would be great.


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## Daren (Oct 14, 2006)

I'm afraid I will have to admit I don't know much about veneers, but I do have some input on burl. I just keep coating and sanding (400 grit between coats) until the finish is smooth. There is more than one way to skin a cat, that's just my way.


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## Nickbee (Nov 1, 2007)

looks great daren!

Here's the stuff I'll be using...


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## Daren (Oct 14, 2006)

That's very pretty. A guy gave me this a few years ago. I have never found a use for it. :icon_confused: Some day something will pop into mind probably.


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## Nickbee (Nov 1, 2007)

I'm thinking that would make a great floor for a serving tray!


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## JON BELL (Nov 2, 2007)

I'm not an expert:icon_smile: but....I've used wal.burl ven. many times and I just sanded and finished it like anything else.In fact on 1/2 of them I used yellow glue.After ab. 4 years,no problems.As for the pores,yeah personal preferance but I hate them! I'm starring at a waln.burl top right now wishing I would have packed them.
Forgot to mention,make sure you get all the glue squeezout off before finishing.This is my biggest pain in the butt.Wetting it down with water makes the glue spots show up better.By the way are you using a vac. bag or other?

Hey Daren, are you selling that for a dollar?I'll take two!


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## Nickbee (Nov 1, 2007)

Hey Jon,, I'll be gluing up small panels for this project. The largest one will be 7" x 7". So it's just going to be clamped..

I'll be using dark cold press glue so I'm sure some of the pores will be filled with that. I'm just wondering what the process is of "filling the grain". I'm also wondering if that would be worth it for this project. Since it's my 1st Veneer project I might keep it simple and just sand / finish like I would anything else...


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## JON BELL (Nov 2, 2007)

Yeah keep it simple for the first time,although packing the pores,filling the grain,isn't hard just messy.To pack the pores you first have to buy porepacker. It's basically watery woodfiller. I get the waterbased,it seems easier to work with.You can get it in a few colors or add you're own dye.Water to water/oil to oil. You're going to be dumping this stuff on you're wood so you first need to put a sealer coat on it for protection.A thinned out coat of shellac works.Keep in mind that this coat is the only thing keeping the wood from being stained by the ppacker.After that you dump on the packer.Work it in at an angle,like grout, to keep from pulling it out of the pores.Use a squeegy so you don't gouge the wood.After it dries you lightly sand the surface.You wan't to sand it enough so that the only packer left is in the pores not on the surface,but sand it light enough so you don't go through the protective coat.You do this once or twice,cover it with a coat of shellac and there you go.Put whatever finish on it you want.
The pores form their own pattern on the wood and you can use colored pp to highlight the pattern.
I like using pp because it leaves a smooth surface and because without it, under the right light conditions, all you see are the pores.
If I have left anything out,let me know.


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## Nickbee (Nov 1, 2007)

Thanks for the write up Jon! That helps lots! Is there a pre-tinted pore packer you would recommend for this stuff? I might give it a try on a sample for the heck of it...

Thanks!


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