Darker finish for cherry?

[Pat Barry]

I am working on a cherry cabinet. I have used BLO as a first coat and was planning to overcoat with shellac. The color may not be dark enough for my customer (daughter). I do plan to put it in the sun for a few days but if that isn't dark enough, what can I do before the shellac to darken it up (maybe mission brown)? Is it too late to use a dye? Any thoughts?

[Sean Hughto]

Cherry will continue to darken significantly for years. It will get most of its darkness int he first year or two, but will continue to get richer and deeper little by little with each passing year. One thing you can do is use some garnet shellac flakes for your shellac coat.

[Todd Burch]

You could go to an art store and pick up some burnt umber powder, mix it with some more BLO to use as a carrier, and apply it. Pretty cheap experiment. I try to keep the following pigments on hand:

burnt umber (dark brown)
raw umber (light tan)
burnt siena (sorta red)
raw siena (kinda yellow)

I recently tried some burnt siena and raw siena on some white oak for a little writing desk I'm making - I liked them both - I should have only tried one of them, now I can't decide.

Todd

[Pat Barry]

Todd, how is the pigment you are talking about different than a dye made for wood? I have used water soluble dye previously (on oak) and liked how it worked, but now with the BLO on the wood I doubt this is the correct approach. Could I use the dye in BLO like you are suggesting with the pigments? What would be the advantage of the pigment?

[Todd Burch]

The pigment (powder) will probably be more apt to congregate in pores and less on the non-pore surfaces, whereas a dye will have a lower contrast (more even coloring). Pigment came to mind since you already started with BLO, and BLO will carry the pigment in solution just fine, and going over BLO with more BLO won't cause any issues.

"Dye" is too generic - could be acetone based, alcohol based, water based or other. I haven't used a powder-based dye - I'm not familiar with any. You would have to do a sample with your dye to see if the two (dye and BLO) were compatible.

Advantage of pigments? Cheap for one. I have small plastic containers (4 oz?) and they cost < $4, and a little goes a long way. I think an advantage in this case was the safety of using a compatible colorant.

Todd

[Conrad Fiore]

You could try a oil soluble aniline dye mixed in the BLO, however I think that Sean has a better idea of using a garnet shellac which looks great on cherry.

[Prashun Patel]

If you've already put BLO on, the wood will be fairly well sealed; a dye or stain won't do it's job well. Further, cherry can blotch, so yr taking chances with a pigment stain.

I agree with Sean: cherry will darken significantly - in fact in months. It's generally recommended to use a darker shellac like garnet to give a headstart on the color. The color in the shellac will largely sit on top of the wood - as a toner - so it's toning ability is not affected by the BLO sealing coat you've put down.

You can also use a phenolic varnish as a top coat to impart even more amber. There are others, but my rec is Waterlox Original Sealer Finish.

[Jeff Monson]

Pat, I like the look of amber shellac over the blo on cherry, this island has blo, amber shellac and laquer topcoat. It has darkened considerably in the last few months.



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[Jerome Hanby]

Wow, that looks great!

Pat, I like the look of amber shellac over the blo on cherry, this island has blo, amber shellac and laquer topcoat. It has darkened considerably in the last few months.



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[Pat Barry]

Jeff, that color is pretty much what I'm looking for. The amber shellac just might do the trick or maybe the garnet like some others suggest. I will give it a try on some test pieces. How many coats would you use?

[Scott Holmes]

I suggest garnet shellac and let it age to the beautiful richness that cherry presents.

[Jeff Monson]

Jeff, that color is pretty much what I'm looking for. The amber shellac just might do the trick or maybe the garnet like some others suggest. I will give it a try on some test pieces. How many coats would you use?

Pat, that was 2 light coats sprayed on. As Scott stated it brings out a rich flavor to the cherry and accents it as it ages.