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I'm building an island for my kitchen from cherry, I've done some samples and the most desireable finish I've found is BLO and then wipe on poly over it, but I need it just a little darker, so do I stain, blo and then poly or should I blo, stain and then poly.
I'd appreciate a suggestion on a darker cherry stain color and mfg. also if someone has any suggestions.
I would try blo, orange shellec, then poly; blo, kusmi shellac, then poly; blo, shellac with med. transtint dye added, then poly; or leave the piece out in the sun for a few days followed by one of the above. As always test your entire finishing schedule on scrap first.
Give it a sun tan! It is really amazing how well that works on cherry.
Heavy coat of General Finishes Seal-a-Cell CLEAR followed by wipedown and several hours out in the sun. I've had very good results with this process.
Agree w all above. You could try garnet shellac (a darker pigment) after the BLO and before the varnish. This will deepen/darken it. Also, time in the sun works. Combo of the 2 should get your results.
Jeff,
If you have to add color, I would try to do it by using dark shellac. The common answer in all these replys is to avoid stain if at all possible. The results are not predictable leading to splotching. If a suntan or garnet shellac won't work, you could try glazing with gel stain over shellac since you can wipe off most. ALWAYS try out the entire process on scrap first. DAMHIKT!
Mark
Check out the latest issue of Fine Woodworking. They had an article in there about using a dye and then staining over it. Their cherry sample came out pretty good.
Jeff,
The best finish for cherry is a suntan, as others have mentioned. That said, you're at a disadvantage being so far north. Here in Florida, I can take freshly milled cherry, wipe on BLO/Naphtha in a 1/1 ratio while the piece is sitting in the Sun, then continue to wipe off the excess every few minutes as it sits in the Sun for several hours. Some pieces take several hours on two or three different days, but the result is worth it. Up your way, I'd probably opt for a dye to give it some color for starters, then let nature take its course over the next few years.
Regards,
Jeff, another way to darken Cherry in an instant is to use a Lye/Water solution. It works like magic on Cherry. Of course, Lye is very caustic and MUST be used with caution. It only takes a bit mixed with water to do the trick. (Last time I use this method, I think I used about 1/2 tsp. to a quart of water, and it did fine.) The stronger the solution, the darker the Cherry will get. I bought a container of Red Devil Lye at the local Ace Hardware store. (Look for it where the drain cleaner products are located.)
Just use a damp rag with the solution, and wipe it on evenly. Wear GLOVES, EYE PROTECTION and work in a WELL VENTILATED AREA!
Jeff,
I working on a cherry bookcase right now. The first picture (with shelves) shows the bookcase without any finish. The second picture (no shelves) has two coats of 1 1/2# cut garnet shellac on top of BLO. I just shot the shellac today. I'm going to finish up with lacquer.
You can adjust the color as needed by adjusting the cut of the shellac.
The lighting in my shop doesn't do justice to the finish.
Mark
Time will do it!