Finishing Cherry Wood - How to...
How Do you get the best finish for cherry wood?...
Cherry wood is one of my all-time favorite woods to work with; I think that goes for a lot of people. It is easy to work with, it smells great and it ages like a fine wine. For many however, finishing cherry is a tricky wicket.
See, one of the "problems" with finishing cherry is, too many people are used to store bought furniture and, as I have mentioned before, that furniture is misleading because they use a multi-step process to artificially age cherry. Why? Because what everyone wants from cherry is that dark rich color. The problem? When cherry is first milled, it has a lighter, creamy color. So, what do people do? Stain it! Kind of like "don't fruit the beer", "don't stain the cherry wood"...just don't do it.
Blotchy Cherry Finish
The main problem with finishing cherry wood is that it has a tendency to blotch with any kind of stain or tinted oil. What this means is, the grain in the wood absorbs different amount of stain color at different rates and depths. This causes some areas to be darker, some lighter and that causes the blotchy look. Now, you can minimize and/or eliminate this by using a pre-stain conditioner, which is really just a super thin shellac.
Using a pre-stain conditioner helps to seal off some of the deeper, more absorbent, grain so that the stain goes on more uniformly. But, like I mentioned, don't fruit the beer; don’t stain the cherry. So how do you achieve that deep rich color cherry is known for if you don’t stain the wood?
The Best Finish for Cherry Wood? - Father time
So, what do you do then if you want that deep rich color cherry is known for? Like Gun's and Roses said, "have a little patience". Let's take a look at the payoff.
Below is a photo of a Shaker end table I took right after I finished it. The finish on this table is simply two coats of tung oil and a few thin coats of clear shellac, nothing else.
As you can see, this table is very light with a nice cream color and with a hint of orange/red to it. For reference, the drawer front is tiger maple. It has the exact same finish as the rest of the table. So, after heeding our GnR friends advice, what does the table look like now?
What a difference right?! This is the exact same table as in the first photo, no changes to the finish at all, but about three years later. As you can see, the color change that the cherry wood has gone through is dramatic; to say the least. The second picture is the deep, dark color that cherry wood is famous for and so sought after. It is the color that most of my clients, that want to use cherry wood, desire as well. And, most often, they ask me if I can stain it to quicken the darkening process. I highly advise them against this and typically do not do it and just ask clients to have, you guessed it, patience.
Cheating Father Time
So, you don't have a lot of patience huh? So, other than staining; which we never do right? Right? What other options do you have. Well, one easy technique is to simply put the furniture out in the sun; simply give it a tan! See, the UV rays are what primarily give cherry its deep color; UV and oxidation really. By simply placing the cherry in the sun, you can significantly speed up the amount of time it takes to color the cherry. Putting your piece in the sun for a while will give you a nice head start on the aging process.
There is another technique, that I've never really used, but tested and it does work. This technique involves diluting baking soda in water and applying it to the cherry wood. This creates a chemical reaction with the wood and causes it to darken very quickly as well. For me, this is just too messy and complicated. You end up having to raise the grain with water, then sand things back down, then apply this diluted solution, let it dry, wipe everything real good, then put your top coat on. What a pain!
If you want a more in depth look into this process, check out the video by The Wood Whisperer has on “Aging Wood with Baking Soda”.
Conclusion - Have Patience
So, in conclusion, cherry wood is an awesome choice for building furniture and is highly desirable. The reason people love it is for that deep rich color. In my opinion, the best way to achieve this amazing color is by just using a little patience and let nature do her thing and naturally darken the wood over time. As you can see from the photos, the change is amazingly dynamic and beautiful. I believe that by the use of stains and chemicals, you are messing with the natural beauty and process and it ultimately turns into something that is not cherry; it looses its character.
Keep things natural; use a natural oil finish, such as a tung oil, lindseed oil or even one of the new oil and wax combination products such as OSMO Poly-x. Any of these finishes are super easy to apply and easy to repair. I even like plain shellac in some cases. Again, easy to apply, easy to repair.
What do you think of the results? Let me know with a comment! Interested in your own piece of furniture, contact me to get started!
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Welcome to my blog. My name is Derik VanVleet and I am the owner/builder of VanVleet Woodworking llc. I hope you find this blog useful and insightful. Feel free to leave a comment in the bottom. Thank you!
