What finish when I already like the look?

[Brian Kent]

This is a piece of cherry that Prashun sent me - thank you again, good friend!

I had been practicing on my crackly firewood, so turning a nice solid piece of cherry was delightful. I sanded to 800 and then buffed with cloth for several minutes. I love the way this came out.

Should I apply any finish at all?

If so, I don't want it to look plastic and I don't want it to darken much if at all. I could jump right to the wax on a Beall Buffing System, wipe on shellac, or use an oil varnish like Formby's "Tung Oil", or use the Maloof oil varnish or oil wax. These are the options on my shelves at the moment.

Thanks.

By the way, the black line on the rim is a little burn line that came from holding the cloth too long in one place. I like it, so I'll keep it.

[Roger Chandler]

You can't beat tung oil on cherry.........although it takes a bit of time to totally dry. Cherry darkens as it ages, if it is exposed to sunlight or florescent lighting.........soft white bulbs don't bother it nearly as bad, but it will still darken some........just the nature of cherry.

[Harvey Ghesser]

Brian, you can use artist's fixative. That's the stuff you spray on paintings. I read somewhere that David Ellsworth sprays it on his turnings to protect the unfinished wood from fingerprints and such.

[Scott Conners]

For pieces like that, I use Renaissance wax. Simple, fast, and works well. Easily renewable too.

Artists fixative is usually an acrylic. I've recently had good luck using Krylon Cystal Clear satin spray on natural style pieces. Go very light and only a couple of coats, or it builds too much and starts to show.

[John Keeton]

Acrylic or lacquer will provide the clearest finish vs. any oil or varnish. But, whatever you do, Brian, the cherry will darken considerably. If you use an acrylic with a UV inhibitor, it will help.

[Bernie Weishapl]

Really nice piece Brian. I like to use lacquer when I don't want the finish to change or darken the color. Water based lacquer is about as clear as it gets.

[robert baccus]

For a really invisible finish try a good hard carnuba wax--dissolve it in laquer thinner quite thin and just pour over the piece and let dry. no blobs of course. it will be a flat finish and will not change the color or shine at all. sounds off the wall but works. i have 2 pieces over 20 yrs old and still clean. of course the light will darken the cherry but nothing like any finish, even rubbed on wax will..----------------Old Forester

[Ed Morgano]

Brian,
I built a Cherry hutch last year. I finished the outside with a Mahogany stain but I wanted the inside light. Someone on SMC suggested General Finishes High Performance Top Coats. I used that. It is a water based semi-gloss finish with UV protection. They recommend three coats for UV protection. So far, it has kept the Cherry from darkening at all. Here are a couple pictures of it as of today.

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