staining cherry

[aaron muniak]

I am test staining a few pieces of cherry that I am planning to make a clock out of and I cant seem to get an even coat of stain on. Its very blotchy in spots. Any thoughts? Is staining cherry in general a bad idea?

[Al Wasser]

Many folks are like me -- staining cherry is a crime of the highest magnitude! Leave it alone with a clear finish and it will darken nicely as it ages.

[Jim Terrill]

Many folks are like me -- staining cherry is a crime of the highest magnitude! Leave it alone with a clear finish and it will darken nicely as it ages.

+1. Leave it out in the sun for a few days to accelerate the darkening if you can't wait or if you want to test a piece of scrap for color.

[Joe Chritz]

http://www.sawmillcreek.org/search.php?searchid=4099316

83 threads using cherry blotching as a search.

It is very prone to just that and is one (although far from the only) reason I and lots of other prefer to just oil it and finish.

An overview of the three hours of reading above (which I still highly recommend) is if you must stain then use a wash coat of sealer first and adjust accordingly on the color.

Joe

[Jim Becker]

AAaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!

(Whew....had to get that out of my system....)

That said......if you feel you need to color your cherry, use a dye, not a stain. This advice holds for any close-grained species. I prefer water soluble dyes sealed with de-waxed shellac for this purpose. (And yes, I have tried it on cherry)

But do keep in mind that "blotch" is really a component of the wood's figure and uneven absorption of oil/stain/dye. Many of us embrace that, frankly.

[Prashun Patel]

Broken record alert: I hate staining cherry.

That being said, if you gotta do it, you can improve yr staining results by wash coating it with dewaxed shellac down at the 1-1.5# range.

[Rob Cunningham]

If you must color the cherry, I have found that dye give better results. I use TransTint mixed with a 50/50 solution of water/DNA. To minimize blotching, spray light misting coats (no puddles) and build up to your color. Seal the dye with a coat of dewaxed shellac, and apply your top coat.
Another option is to seal the wood with shellac and use a gel stain to color.
My favorite finish for cherry is a coat of BLO, seal with shellac, and topcoat with Target Coatings EM2000 or EM6000. Then let mother nature take over.

[Howard Acheson]

I am test staining a few pieces of cherry that I am planning to make a clock out of and I cant seem to get an even coat of stain on. Its very blotchy in spots. Any thoughts? Is staining cherry in general a bad idea?

Yes, cherry is a wood that tends to color unevenly particularly when using a pigment type stain. There are a number of techniques that are used to get a more even coloring. One is to first apply a 1/2# cut of dewaxed shellac. Let it harden and then very lightly sand with 320 paper on a sanding block. Just let the weight of the sanding block provide the pressure. Vacuum and then apply the stain being sure to follow the directions on the can. Even better is to use a gel stain. Let the stain fully dry 3-4 days and then apply your clear coats.

I like to only use a minimal amber dye stain followed by dewaxed shellac and then a wipe-on non-poly finish.

Test your plan out fully on scrap from your project. Only when you are satisfied with your test results should you go to your real project. Finally, one of the attractive features of cherry is its somewhat variability in color.

[William Hutchinson]

When I first wiped down the inner lid inlay with alcohol the piece turned into an black ugly mess. I used this Charles Neil Blotch Control on a chest made of highly blotch prone spalted maple. This water based solution works great. I used two coats, sanded after dying. Then finished with an oil/varnish mixture, garnet shellac and lacquer top coat. Even the end grain didn't go too dark.

Unfinished


Finished



Lid was particularly blotch prone



Detail, showing no blotch



No dark end grain, after oil/varnish mixture applied


No affiliation, compensation or any other connection with maker of this product. Just want to get the word out on something that works. Google 'Charles Neil blotch control' and see his demonstration video that includes cherry.