Ed Zachary! I just don't understand all this yap about forcing Cherry to darken using noxious chemicals, and it goes right back to what I said about us living in a world of instant gratification. I don't know that I've ever seen "forcibly" darkened Cherry, but I'd be damned surprised if it looked anywhere near as good as Cherry that's been left alone to do its own thing.
Use purpleheart. But then it might turn brown. -)
Luigi
Dunno where Salty gets the idea that cherry stain is the color of the fruit. I wonder of what he believes "oak" stain to be the color. I had occasion to stain a piece of poplar with "cherry" the other day and hadn't installed it yet, so just for hohos I set it on top of a cherry turning square that's been laying around for five years or so and when you allow for the dust on the turning square it's pretty close--the poplar has taken on several different shades in different spots and I can find spots on the turning square that are pretty close to matching all of them. Some are a bit pinkish.
And clear coating doesn't automagically prevent color changes. Depends on the chemistry and the coating.
My brother bought some cherry lamp tables and a coffee table around 1970 from an Amish place in Indiana. They are still the original color (medium tan). They had a tung oil finish.
Around 1990 I was making a set of kitchen cabinets of cherry. I needed a piece of wood for a jig and used an extra piece of cherry, wiped it down with linseed oil. It was deep, dark red within 3-4 years. Because of the BLO? No idea.
Go get a can of "cherry stain", and dip a piece of clean white paper in it. It is very red. Not the color of cherry wood. The color of cherry juice, which was at one time the actual material used to make the stain.
There is also a color called cranberry. I assure you it is not the color of cranberry "wood".
If you can find a can that says "looks like 5 year old cherry wood", let us know!
Well, duh, Sherlock. If a customer comes to a custom cabinet maker and says they want a particular type of wood and they want a clear coating, they obviously want the color of the wood to be a certain color to match the rest of the kitchen decor. A PROFESSIONAL cabinet maker would not want those cabinets finished in a way that the color would change. If the customer wanted an aged look, the cabinet maker would age it before protecting it to prevent further aging.
For cherry wood that I buy from local hardwood vendors I use boiled linseed oil, next day a coat of shellac(sanding sealer style, no wax) and then poly or lacquer or whatever. The BLO instantly gives the hi pro glow. In a couple of years the color is absolutely stunning.
RP
On Nov 12, 11:26=A0pm, Steve Turner wrote: [snipperized]
Amen, brother, amen!
Not likely to darken in storage unless exposed to the sun.
Unless exposed to sun light.
I often find it difficult to distinguish cherry from maple in a lumber yard especially of the some of the maple has dark spots. Chery tends to be a tad more tan than maple when new and darkens greatly with exposure to sunlight.
Just put the Cherry wood in sunlight for a day or so , it darkens up nicely or finished project in sunny room. Most cherry furniture you find in stores is stained or coloured maple ect. to look cherry. The Chatoyancy of oiled cherry is it's own thing, nothing quit like it
You just run the doors through the planer every 6 months.
Try some Minwax wiping poly on it. No promises, but the one piece I did that way the Purpleheart is still purple two years later.
I understand the planer blades make a mess of the hinges though... What turns it brown is oxidation. Seal off the air, and it stays purple. If you don't seal it, it will rust......like oak.
Ahh crap, you beat me to it.
And remember to coat the hinges, because after they've been through the planer they're guaranteed to disappear into a pile of rust. Especially if the planer has previously been used on oak. Or for that matter if the hinges exist in the same universe as an oak tree.
Incidentally, speaking of oak, pulled some nails out of the barn yesterday, they've been in oak for I dunno how long--they're wire nails, not cut nails, so that puts them after 1900 or so. In any case, while they're rusted a bit, they aren't rusted into nonexistence nor are they particularly black. Should post some pictures of 'em just to go neener- neener at oak-rust-boy.
Not to mention that it's a MORTAL SIN to stain and poly cherry.
Yea, though I walk through the valley of death, I shall use neither stain nor poly on cherry.
-- To the well-organized mind, death is but the next great adventure. -- J. K. Rowling
I would say that any professional would listens to the customer and make sure that he understands what the customer wants.
When we remodeled our kitchen, I chose cherry cabinets with a clear finish and really wanted the natural aging process. WE knew that it would not have the same color one the first day as one or five or ten years later. WE have several cherry antiques and the wood colors are all different. The variety adds interest IMO.
But we understood what we were getting and how the look would change over time.
I always assumed most wood darkening was from UV exposure. Clear coats do not stop UV penetration well, at all.
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