finish for American Cherry

Re: finish for American Cherry

Glenn Madsen near San Francisco

>I've only got a few years experience, but have done a little of this...

Waterlox is a favorite of mine. It ambers the finish, darkening it somewhat, like an oil, but, being a wiping varnish, offering moreprotection. It's good stuff, dead easy to use, and durable. www.waterlox.com for availabity and flavors.

Waterbased finishes _tend_ to be more white/blue in color, and 'cool' the perceived colors of the project. Fine for maples, less than fine to my eye for cherry, walnut, etc. I use them for durability when I need to, but I'm not the biggest fan. Folks who spray, however, tend to like them a lot, because they tend not to have the environmental problems that spraying solvent-based finishes can.

Your choice, but I'd try to stay with wiped on oil finishes for my cherry projects...

I always stain cherry

Bill Tindall, E.TN

>I think it looks raw unstained. I use what ever oil stain color that pleases me. I prefer a reddish brown. A little precoat with linseed oil helps to control how much stain is taken up. I put stain on with a rag. Dip rag in stain and rub on to get desired depth. Cherry must be sanded very carefully to avoid stain splotching. I stop at 220.

The post is stained with Sherwin Williams cherry wiping stain. This stain has been reformulated by Sherwin Williams so I can't say for sure that what is available now is equivalent. You can always make your own from pigments ground in linseed oil.

Fortunately we do not find the odor of mineral spirits or naptha objectionable. Smelling it for a day seems like a small price to pay for a new piece of furniture. I like varnish or shellac on cherry depending on how the piece will be used.

Re: finish for American Cherry

Tony Zaffuto

>You can take the pieces (before assembly and after prep) outside into the sun for a day or so to naturally darken the wood. Adds a shade or two of darkness.

I've also used a bit of a red mahogany oil based stain.

T.Z.

Re: finish for American Cherry

Wendell @ Murphy, Tx

>I like Bartley's Pennsylvania Cherry gel stain. I used it on a bookcase made from cherry veneer plywood with solid cherry trim. The stain help make the color uniform. The bookcase is in room that get full sun in the afternoon. I haven't notice that the piece has gotten darker over the last five years.

Wendell

I've had good luck with Watco...

Scott Burr in Ben Lomond, CA

>Cherry danish oil. It would be too stinky to apply indoors with out good ventlation

Re: finish for American Cherry

Don Pierson

>Here is a piece of cherry I have had laying on the window sill for a couple of years. The large rectangle on the left is where I had taped a 3x5 card over the wood to keep out the sunlight. On the right are a number of areas that are not stained, stained once, stainded twice, unfinished, finished with serval finish products. Two Bartley Gel Stains were used...Penn. Red and fruitwood. It is pretty subjective but I perfer the brownish fruitwood, the Penn.Red is too red for me...a mix of the two might give a nice reddish brown. Anyway the best recommendation I can give: use a piece of your wood and try several test spots. The distortion/reproduction of cameras/monitors are even more of a reason why you have to do test strips. Best wishes...Don

Cherry is phototrophic

Jim Reed @ Tallahassee

>and will darken with time as it reacts with light. I like to use Minwax *CHERRY*. Take it outside for finish. It will stink for three or four days afterward. Small price to pay for nice finish. Good luck with yours.

Re: finish for American Cherry

Verne in Northeast NJ

>I've had good success with Watco Danish oil (one coat) then 2 or 3 coats of orange shellac, finished with wax. Your pieces will darken over time.

Re: finish for American Cherry

Derek Cohen (in Perth, Australia)

>Hi Verne

I have this huge amount of experience with Cherry that amounts to one piece recently. So I am no expert. I did do a little reading and the advice I got recommended a split coat of shellac first (to prevent blotching), then the finish of your choice. In my case it was to use Danish Oil after the shellac as it was a table top (i.e. the reverse order of your recommendation). This was followed by wax.

Regards from Perth

Derek

Re: finish for American Cherry

James Watriss

>I personally like to tint it first with a Transtint Honey Amber, and then use Hock Garnet shellac. Quick, easy, and shines up very easily.

one more shot 

James Watriss

>

Re: one more shot

Tom Colligan

>Very nice work, James. What are the dimensions of your project and did you make the inlay pattern yourself? Tia, Tom.