splotching on cherry

[Paul Rains]

made cherry bowl, thought I would try a little cherry watco, to add a little color, got splotching in the sap wood area, doesn't look as good as I thought, any suggestions on what I should have done? any suggestions to correct it?

[Steve Schlumpf]

Paul - photos? My first question is to ask what grit you finished sanding at. I have had good luck sanding to 400 - especially on the end grain. As far as corrective action - Watco cherry is a surface stain, so I would grab some mineral spirits and rub the blotched area and try to remove as much Watco as possible. I realize Watco is an oil based finish but the pigments will stay on the surface and that is what I am suggesting trying to rub out.

[Paul Rains]

my camera is out of action, I would love to show you, seems like I had this problem on furniture one time. I went to 400, the grain just soaks it up and end up blotchy and dark. I probably should have put another coat of sanding sealer.

[Steve Schlumpf]

You might want to give the mineral spirits or DNA a try and see if it will lift some of the oil out of the grain. Sanding sealer is always a guessing game - for me. How do you know you have enough coats until after you apply the finish?

[Jake Helmboldt]

Stain and cherry (and maple) just don't mix. Splotching is virtually guaranteed to some degree and staining exacerbates it. I would remove the stain and simply use some kind of finish, and even then you'll probably get some blotching. It will darken over time as well, sometimes a lot.

Popular Woodworking had an article last month titled "Cherry Blotches, Get Over It". :) That pretty much sums it up.

[Dewey Torres]

Jake,
I was going to post the exact same quote! Funny.:D

[Paul Rains]

hopefully these pictures came through and you can see my delemma, I fought with this bowl on my Jet Midi lathe, tool rest wouldn't reach back far enough.:rolleyes:

[Paul Rains]

that was my thoughts also, I thought I had same problem on some furniture, I will sand it back off and try natural oil and buff. Bowl is about 10 inches across, i am surprised bark stayed on as well as it did.

[David Walser]

Paul,

I'm not sure how to eliminate the splotching on this bowl. If Steve's right (which I believe him to be), you should be able to remove the blotching with mineral spirits and some sanding.

In the future, try sealing the end grain with a coat of sanding sealer (or Deft's lacquer if that's handier) applied to the entire bowl. After the sanding sealer dries, sand down to bare wood and apply your stain as usual. The sanding sealer should prevent the pores in the end grain from soaking up more stain than the surrounding wood. It doesn't always work, but it seems to be a big help.

Good luck!

By the way, I really like your bowl -- splotches and all! Very well done.

[Paul Rains]

Thanks for help and compliment - I did put sanding sealer on it between between 150 and 220. I may have very well sanded most of it off though.

[Jeff Nicol]

Paul, Just about all the blotches are on the end grain, this is where the wood was not cut cleanly and the wood fibers are bent over leaving little pockets for the stain and any other finish you will put on it. If you look with a magnifier you will see what I am talking about. These areas need to be cut as clean as possible on the last cut with whatever tool you prefer. I will put a coat of very thinned down shellac to stiffen the fibers and make a very fine cut with the gouge or with a freshly burred scraper. Do this a couple times and you will get rid of most of it. Then if you can't get rid of the bent/torn fibers you will have to start with some pretty coarse grit paper and get all the areas smooth. You can put some naptha or lacquer thinner on once in a while during the sanding to see where you need more. Cherry and maple are the worst for this along with aspen and birch.

Perfection through elbow grease and sweat!

Jeff

[Dean Thomas]

Cherry also bruises pretty easily in the sapwood area. Bruised areas take finish wierdly. And once you bruise the wood, it's hard to sand deeply enough to lose the bruise.

The blushing shown in the pix is not unattractive, at least to me. Call it "cherry rosacea", smile, and tell 'em it's all natural.

[Paul Rains]

What causes bruising, I have never heard that before, I have sanded it all back down, probably mistake, but I guess if nothing else I am gaining wisdom from all these mistakes.

[Jeff Nicol]

Paul, Bruising is when the wood gets dented or dropped on the floor or something along those lines. Cherry is relatively soft but brittle wood compared to maple etc. If you hit it with a hammer and turn it the dent will show up for a while as the wood fibers have been compressed. Maybe could be the cause of some of it near the outside, but I still say it is from not getting a clean cut. It has nothing to do with the way you turn, just a thing with endgrain and cherry.

Keep on the trail to perfection,

Jeff