I’m laying out inset cabinetry with 1/8-inch reveals for a La Jolla condo and debating black walnut versus rift-sawn white oak, fully grain-matched and sequenced. For those working near salt air, how have your pieces behaved under a low-sheen conversion varnish (EM8000cv or similar) over 3–5 years — any seasonal movement at the face frame, color drift, or finish clouding?
I’d lean rift white oak; my Del Mar walnut island lightened a couple shades in 3 years under EM8000cv+CL100, while the rift run stayed stable and the “1/8-inch reveals” were drama-free. If you stick with EM8000cv, keep film build thin (≈3–4 mils total), lay an EM1000 or dewaxed shellac barrier on oak to avoid haze, and cure in controlled RH; link: https://www.targetcoatings.com/product/emtech-em8000cv-wb-conversion-varnish/. Does your sink wall or a west window blast those faces — walnut there fades like a beach towel unless you pre-tint a touch.