What's your favorite finish for cherry?

[lenhow]

I've got a project out of cherry I have to finish and I want to possibly try something other than my usual Watco oil or brushed on Poly. What have others had good luck with when finishing cherry ?

Lenny

[mark]

It may not be suitable for your project, but I was adding some cherry trim to match some cherry kitchen cabinets and the closest matching finish turned out to be orange shellac. But afterwards, I learned that the cabinet manufacturer sold their stain that matched the cabs. The shellac is a damn close match anyways.....

[Upscale]

Black paint with embedded non-slip textured stone chips.

[dabears525]

I have a mixture that I use for all of my cherry projects. What I do is mix

3 parts Zar cherry gel stain with 1 part Woodcote cherry gel stain. You have to mix them thoroughly, but they will give you the color you're looking for.

The real issue with cherry is it has a tendency to blotch, so I always recommend a gel stain. They penetrate more uniformly than other types of (liquid) stain.

After the stain, use a sprayed-on lacquer.

Hope that helps.

Ron

[Tom Bunetta]

[mac davis]

before or after you pull out the nails?

mac

Please remove [dot]splinters before emailing

[Leon]

Apply putty over the nails,

[Douglas Johnson]

Initial coat of 1 part tung oil and 1 part mineral spirits. Flow on enough to keep the surface wet for about 15 minutes, then wipe excess off.

3-4 coats of full strength tung oil, applied in the same way.

If the surface is likely to take some abuse (e.g. a kitchen table), use a mixture of 1/3 tung oil, 1/3 boiled linseed oil, 1/3 oil based poly instead of the straight tung oil. 3-4 coats applied the same way.

Finish off with a mix of 1/2 tung oil and 1/2 beeswax. (The beeswax needs to be shaved and dissolved in the tung oil while warming in a double boiler or crock pot. Be careful with the heat.)

The result is a durable, easy to repair, finish that will give the cherry a little color, but will also allow it to darken naturally. The stuff just keeps getting more beautiful.

-- Doug

[mac davis]

OH! I thought they were only until the glue dries...

mac

Please remove [dot]splinters before emailing

[Don Fearn]

[e-mail] opin'd thus:

Minwax Antique Oil

is what I used on my cherry bed. I got it locally and paid a lot less than $12.99 per qt plus shipping, though . . . .

-Don (making a cherry convertible crib to finish the same way)

[lenhow]

Well actually, that may be very close to what I want. I was leaning towards using an oil followed by shellac (as I thought I had read something along those lines in an issue of Fine Woodworking)

Thanks for the suggestion. Lenny

[lenhow]

Our shop built a custom piece of furniture for historical author David McCullough and that is just what he wanted for a finish, (well the black paint part anyway) =0 ) I kid you not ! The idea being that as it wore off it would expose the cherry. ( it may have even got distressed I can't remember) Never did see the finished product as it was taken to be sprayed and then wrapped up for delivery.

Lenny

[toolmanlh]

Thanks to all ! Some very good suggestions,

Lenny

[lenhow]

Damn !

=0 (

[10x]

Flat black latex - it never fails to impress :-)

Joe aka 10x