Preventing fading/discoloration in unfinished wood

[Dan McGonigle]

Hey guys, my shop time is very limited so I often take many months to complete projects. I also bounce around projects frequently, so projects sometimes sit unfinished for some time. I’m currently working on a hall table and have the table, minus drawers and top, glued up. Before I glued it, I planed and sanded. After planing, the darkened cherry came back to the nice soft pinkish color of freshly milled cherry. Is there any way to preserve this color before I get around to finishing it? I was thinking of covering it with a drop cloth, or maybe a coat of seal coat?

[Lee Schierer]

Exposure to light and air make the color change. You can cover it with an opaque cloth to stop the light exposure, not much you can do about the air and that effect is very slow anyway.

I would use cloth and make sure you still get air circulation on all sides so that moisture changes stay uniform. Sticker all your parts, pieces, assemblies and raw wood.

[johnny means]

Cherry is going to darken regardless of what you do. Most would say that's the point. That darkened color is what you will end up with in a very short time even after finishing.