Giving cherry a suntan

[Waymon Campbell]

I'm getting ready to start building my cherry entertainment center and was wondering...

1) Since I am going to be spraying on a clear finish, should I "age" the cherry stock by exposing to sun?
2) If so, is the best approach to build and then expose the whole project, or expose the stock first?

[Doug Shepard]

It's better if you can tan the whole pc when finished. The other way can work but you'll probably need to do some sanding, scraping, or planing after assembly and there goes your suntan.

[Jamie Buxton]

In my experience, varnished or oiled cherry gets a tan quicker than unfinished cherry.

[Jim Becker]

Waymon...you can't "expose" first and build later...you'll cut and sand off the "tan"! Build first. I like to oil with BLO and then expose, if I'm going to expose...no particular reason other than thats the way I do it and the warmth from the sun doesn't hurt the curing process for the oil one bit... ;)

One other point. UV is only one component of the darkening process. Oxidation is the other. Therefore, exposure helps to even everything out and start the process, but it will still be a year or three before the cherry really starts to dazzle. No problem!

[Kirk (KC) Constable]

In my experience, varnished or oiled cherry gets a tan quicker than unfinished cherry.

Same here.