Blotchy Cherry - Help!

[Hans Braul]

Folks, I need your expert opinion. Here are some pictures of the crest rail of one of the chair set I'm making.

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The finishing treatment so far has been:
ROS at 120 grit
hand sand 120 grit
ROS 180 grit
Hand sand 220 grit
BLO and mineral spirits 50/50 applied and wiped.

I have another piece with shellac applied that just serves to accentuate this effect. Part of me say, "Well, that's just cherry doing what cherry does." It changes depending on the angle you look at it, and it's kind of interesting.

The other part says, "Blotchy". I refuse to muddy the piece with stain. Any suggestions? Is there any way to get rid of this? What would you do?

Thanks for all comments.
Hans

[Prashun Patel]

I agree w you; I'm torn as to whether it needs to be 'fixed'. Coupla things I'd try:

- sand to a higher grit - like 400, then oil it.

- or skip the oil and go straight to shellac; blonde or 'platina' to seal, then garnet or amber to give some color.

[Chris Friesen]

Personally I'd be fine with that.

Really nasty blotching might need some care, but that doesn't seem bad at all, at least in the pictures.

[Jim Becker]

There is nothing to "fix"...that's just how the wood's figure and varying density absorbs the finish differently through out. If you skipped the oil and used a colorless sealer, that would eliminate the "problem", but the wood would also be quite lifeless. Keep in mind that over time, the whole piece will get darker and this will be less noticeable. Personally, I embrace this effect, although I try to match my stock in a project to get a consistent effect as much as possible.

[Joe Cunningham]

That ain't blotchy. :D Panel I am working on with mineral spirits. Like Jim I don't mind it

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But if I did mind it, I'd do a wash coat with shellac first before the BLO. Otherwise I might use a glaze or (with spray equipment) tone the topcoats to try to even out the color. Dye is also an option, though normally you do that on bare wood.

[glenn bradley]

This characteristic of cherry and other woods that "blotch" also bothers me . As Jim says though; pieces I have been unhappy with have darkened with age and become quite nice to look at. To avoid the behavior initially, if that is your desire, I have used a wash of a very, very thin shellac prior to applying the oil. This seems to even things out initially but after a couple of years, things even out on their own.

[Hans Braul]

Thanks for the replies. Since posting, I've done quite a bit of research and have concluded it's just chattoyance that hasn't been properly brought out. I found a technique of sanding to 120, then applying shellac, sanding again, more shellac, etc going up in grit as you go, until you have enhanced the figure. I tried it with a test piece that had less than the piece I posted, but here's the result:
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I have ordered some aniline dyes to try to enhance this effect even more. I'll post the results.

Regards
Hans

[Arthur Travers]

Yes, blotching on cherry can be a problem...I do not remember where
I got this info, but I used a natural glaze mixed with burnt sienna and it
really did the job on a Pennsylvania Spice chest i built some years ago..
Smoothed out all of the coloring - no blotching..