Using cherry for a painted project

[Drew Pavlak]

Hey all,

Just had a quick question about using cherry for a painted project. What you say! :eek: I know, I know shouldn't be done, cherry is too nice to paint. I agree, but hear me out.

I recently picked up about 350 BF of RS cherry and as you can imagine not all of it is perfect. I have some that has the Sap wood (very white in color) on it. I was looking at using these for a painted bookcase. My real questions are should I use the sap wood at all for anything other than scrap pieces, and does it paint well? Does it mold well? Any thing it shouldn't be used for?

I am hoping that I can use it like a substitute for poplar. It would cut my costs down on some projects that I am looking at doing, cause I wouldn't have to buy more wood.

Let me know what you all think.
Thanks
Drew

[Stephen Edwards]

Personally, I wouldn't use it for a project that's going to be painted. But, that's just me.

I've seen projects done by others and built a few myself that used the type of lumber that you're talking about. It's called "rustic cherry":D. Actually, it looks very nice to me.

Sorry, I don't know if it paints well or not. Good luck with your decision.

[Mike Circo]

Actually I've done exactly the same thing. A bathroom cabinet. I just used whatever was at hand and I had some ugly cherry.

Cherry takes profiles excellently. It sands very smooth which takes paint well. I sprayed on the primer and top coats and it is glass smooth.

Better to use what is at hand than waste it.

[Bill Arnold]

I made this box many years ago with some cherry I had leftover from a larger project. I used black walnut for the contrasting pieces. If you think on a larger scale, matching some pieces of cherry like this might make better use of the material.

http://bbarnold.com/images/keepsakebox-02a.jpg

http://bbarnold.com/images/keepsakebox-02b.jpg

[Rob Young]

Cherry will paint just fine, as said above, it mills well and can be sanded/scraped quite smooth.

Another option for your sappy cherry would be as a secondary wood inside drawers and carcasses. Like you would use poplar or pine.

And of course there are always jigs to be made and it is nice to have around "practice" pieces for new techniques and tool setups and testing.

[Horton Brasses]

I have a painted cherry blanket chest made by Eldred-Wheeler. Very nice, but the Cherry seems kind of pointless. It does seem to hold the paint well. IE, the paint is very nice-distressed green color. Unless you know what you are looking for no one knows the difference or even that it is an "incorrect" wood. Can't say anything about the less than ideal bits. I have no idea if mine is "good" cherry or not, nor do I know why they used Cherry.

[Bill Orbine]

I've used lower grade cherry on projects to be painted. Trouble is, people think it's too nice and opt not to paint. In one case, I made a cherry entry door with one side being the beautiful CHERRY and the other side painted. The side to be painted was so bad (saps, worm holes and knots) I couldn't figure why the homeowners wanted to leave it unpainted and go with clear coat. Yes, cherry is paintable, but beware the homeowner!

[Stephen Edwards]

I've used lower grade cherry on projects to be painted. Trouble is, people think it's too nice and opt not to paint. In one case, I made a cherry entry door with one side being the beautiful CHERRY and the other side painted. The side to be painted was so bad (saps, worm holes and knots) I couldn't figure why the homeowners wanted to leave it unpainted and go with clear coat. Yes, cherry is paintable, but beware the homeowner!

That's what I've encountered, too. Fact is, a lot of people like that rustic look on cherry. Sap wood, worm holes, knots.....don't seem to matter at all. As long as they can say it's real cherry, that's what counts!

I ran across a website once that featured a home completely trimmed out in so called "Rustic Cherry". It was quite beautiful.

[Drew Pavlak]

I guess I should elaborate on what my intent was. My LOML would like me to build my daughter a bookcase ( 2 or 3 fixed shelf) and she would like it to match the painted dressers she already has.

My plan was to use some Birch plywood for the case and then use the cherry to trim out the edges. So my guess would be that very little would be used for this as it is going to be a small bookcase and only the edges will be trimmed out in the cherry.

Thanks for all the info. :)

Drew

P.S. I still have a mantle, more bookcases and a computer desk to build and none of these will be painted.:D

[Jason White]

I ran some cherry through a molding machine for a couple of small pieces of exterior trim awhile back just because I had scraps available to me. It milled and painted up great! That was 4 years ago and the paint still looks fine. Can't remember if I saw any sapwood, though.

Jason


Hey all,

Just had a quick question about using cherry for a painted project. What you say! :eek: I know, I know shouldn't be done, cherry is too nice to paint. I agree, but hear me out.

I recently picked up about 350 BF of RS cherry and as you can imagine not all of it is perfect. I have some that has the Sap wood (very white in color) on it. I was looking at using these for a painted bookcase. My real questions are should I use the sap wood at all for anything other than scrap pieces, and does it paint well? Does it mold well? Any thing it shouldn't be used for?

I am hoping that I can use it like a substitute for poplar. It would cut my costs down on some projects that I am looking at doing, cause I wouldn't have to buy more wood.

Let me know what you all think.
Thanks
Drew

[Frank Drew]

If you don't think a particular batch of cherry is suitable for a clear finish, there's absolutely no reason not to use it as a paint-grade wood; it's relatively hard, machines well, takes paint well... what's not to like?

Which is not to say that higher quality material shouldn't be treated with respect and used appropriately.

[Todd Hoppe]

I have used it when I didn't have any other stock of appropriate size. It paints very well. The sapwood wasn't a problem

[Drew Pavlak]

Thanks, all this is exactly what I wanted to hear.

Drew:D