NIce!
What is C/B and what is BL?
How did you apply them ... brush, swab, cloth, hand, etc?
Did you do anything between coats?
sorry , i got the C/B backwards . it should have been B/C for Birchwood Casey .
BL = Boiled Linseed .
I apply all my oils by hand to include the filler . while the Birchwood calls for being laid on with a cloth, i prefer to work it in by hand using lighter coats . Sanded back between coats .
The number of coats I let be dictated by the size of the pours themselves .
The final filler coat I buff back with burlap..
Some may think the Boiled linseed is over kill . But some years ago I had an issue with my Tung oil finish being laid over the filler . I however have never had an issue with Tung adhering to BL . Nor BL adhering to the filler . So I added the BL and have never had another issue .
I would also point out . The result is nothing more then a sped up version of applying coats of oil and wet sanding between them . Just as you described earlier.
Just can't figure out why you have to fill the grain of walnut. I love that wood and how it finishes and I have never attempted to fill the grain in any way. I do not see holes where there is end grain and I do not see any gaps between grain fibers. Am I missing something?
volatpluvia
IMO , no your not missing anything .
Some folks like the European finish and the want the pours to show . Other prefer the American type finish which has become very popular . Thus the pours are filled to the point the surface is smooth as glass , yet not to the point the wood has a built up plastic look .
Also depending on your blank the amount and size of the pours can very greatly throughout . As such filling “if so desired” can even out the finish .
Take the BW stocks I showed . The butt stock area is so dense that there was very little to no pours visable after final sanding . Yet up around the wrist and the lock panels the blank was much less dense , with more pours being visible. While both these areas will carry checking , I don’t want the pours to disrupt the evenness of the finish between the checking areas . So the complete stock was filled .
This doesn’t mean that the pours don’t show ,they do as under the oil they naturally appear darker . However the surface finish is smooth