Cherry Finish

[Warren White]

I am about to the point of applying finish to a hall desk made from cherry. This is my first real piece of furniture, which I made at the Marc Adams School of Woodworking. (Kelly Mehler was the instructor.... the school, the instruction, and the class were all spectacular!)

It has been suggested that I use BLO (wetting the surface; leave it on for 30 minutes and wipe off). Following that, I could do one of several things.

I have a couple of pieces extra and have done the BLO 'thing' on both. I then used Watco wipe-on poly on one and T&T on the other (several coats of each). I then applied Liberon wax to both and hand buffed them.

The T&T seems a bit harder than the Watco, both have a good sheen, but the Watco seems a bit 'blotchy' (both pieces were from the same piece of wood).

I would really welcome any and all suggestions. I am not tied to either finish. I would welcome any thoughts about brands, types of finishes, and anything else. I haven't had a lot of success brushing on things in the past, but I am open to any suggestions. I also have a friend who has a HVLP sprayer I could use, but I wonder about using this piece as my first experience in spraying.

Thanks a lot!
Warren White :D

[David LaRue]

Welcome to the forum!

[Noah Alkinburgh]

Warren,

No help from me on finishing...I can't get wipe on poly right either :D The blotchiness could have come from getting it on to thick in some spots. I know alot of people say the only way to laquer is to spray, but there are many here who get good results by brushing on. Poly doesn't give the depth that laquer does from what I understand. Now FWIW I have been told that I should be seen and not heard ;) on many of these things so hopefully if I am wrong those people who do know something will give you some good advice :)

Congratulations on your table though!!!! Make sure no matter what you post some pictures. We love pictures. Glad you decided to post. Hope to see some more of you around the Creek :)

Noah

[Roger Myers]

Choice of finish should also take into consideration the use of the item...will drinks be served on it? Will it see rough use?
My personal favorite for cherry is Tried & True original - several coats, applied VERY thin, rubbed out between coats.
The picture is a corner detail of a cherry and maple bookcase that just received it's last coat (5th) last night...
I find it holds up well, brings out the color, and ages gracefully.
When it comes to finishing cherry, there sure are a lot of opinions out there, and I'm sure you'll get a bunch.

Roger (who always has his share of opinions)

[Bruce Page]

Warren,
First of all, welcome to Saw Mill Creek.
I recently completed a cherry & birds-eye maple cradle for my new granddaughter. Before I applied the finish to the cherry, I gave it a light coat of Zinssier’s, Bulls Eye Seal Coat. I did not have any of the blotching that is so typical on cherry.

[Kirk (KC) Constable]

Bruce...I mighta missed that if you posted it before. It's awfully pretty.

KC

[Jim Becker]

It has been suggested that I use BLO (wetting the surface; leave it on for 30 minutes and wipe off).

Agreed. This is the best place to start, IMHO. The oil really brings out the character of the figure.


I have a couple of pieces extra and have done the BLO 'thing' on both. I then used Watco wipe-on poly on one and T&T on the other (several coats of each). I then applied Liberon wax to both and hand buffed them.

The T&T seems a bit harder than the Watco, both have a good sheen, but the Watco seems a bit 'blotchy' (both pieces were from the same piece of wood).

Tried and True is BLO! There are three formulas...straight BLO, BLO and was and "varnish oil" which is BLO plus resin. The latter is a slightly harder finish. It should be noted that T&T is very expensive as compared to buying BLO in the gallon can at the big-box store. Yes, it doesn't have the metalic driers, but unless you have a specific reason to need that, you can just use ordinary BLO. Some folks consider T&T to be a real marketing coup, although I do like and use the product on certain projects. (Usually cherry items)

Gardern-variety BLO and the T&T variant are just fine by themselves but offer little protection on items that are used hard. (The T&T oil/wax combo is a complete finish as is the varnish oil) You can top-coat with just about anything you prefer--I use a coat of de-waxed garnett shellac to add moisture protection and either use wax as the final finishing step for items that are decorative or spray on Target Coatings Oxford PSL water-based laquer for a harder, more durable finish. I only use the dreaded polyurethane varnish when absolutely necessary--I don't like how it looks, feels, etc.

Watco is a wiping varnish and is basically varnish, oil and thiner mixed in approximately equal proportions. It does not need to be top-coated as it's already a varnish product. Buffing a coat of wax is fine as it is over any finish, but only serves to adjust the sheen; no additional protection is added.

[Bruce Page]

Bruce...I mighta missed that if you posted it before. It's awfully pretty.

KC

Thanks KC, it doesn’t compare to your everyday outstanding work but I was happy with it.
Here’s a link to see the rest of the pictures:
http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?threadid=2801

How’s the big conference table coming along?

[Warren White]

Welcome to the forum!

Thanks David. I have been 'lurking' since we first began. Not too many days pass when I don't look at what's happening here. Great bunch of folks.

Warren

[Warren White]

Warren,

No help from me on finishing...I can't get wipe on poly right :D The blotchiness could have come from getting it on to thick in some spots. I I know alot of people say the only way to laquer is to spray, but there are many here who get good results by brushing on. Poly doesn't give the depth that laquer does from what I understand. Now FWIW I have been told that I should be seen and not heard ;) on many of these things so hopefully if I am wrong those people who do know something will give you some good advice :)

Congratulations on your table though!!!! Make sure no matter what you post some pictures. We love pictures. Glad you decided to post. Hope to see some more of you around the Creek :)

Noah

Noah,
Thanks for the advice. As for the blotchiness you could certainly be right. I tried not to put too much, but even when I just used T&T by itself it blotched....or did I?

If the table turns out I will try to put some pictures up. If not, there isn't any sense in humiliating myself. That is something I can do privately :rolleyes:

Warren

[Warren White]

Choice of finish should also take into consideration the use of the item...will drinks be served on it? Will it see rough use?
My personal favorite for cherry is Tried & True original - several coats, applied VERY thin, rubbed out between coats.
The picture is a corner detail of a cherry and maple bookcase that just received it's last coat (5th) last night...
I find it holds up well, brings out the color, and ages gracefully.
When it comes to finishing cherry, there sure are a lot of opinions out there, and I'm sure you'll get a bunch.

Roger (who always has his share of opinions)

Roger,
Thanks for the advice as to what the table will be used for. It will be in the hall; not used except to put things in as you pass by or perhaps a beauty spot for my wife to put something on.

I tried using T&T (my can says "original wood finish") on a piece of naked cherry, but it still looks a little blotchy. I put it on thin with my finger. Do you thin the stuff?

Your bookcase looks beautiful! Someday when I grow up......

Warren

[Warren White]

Warren,
First of all, welcome to Saw Mill Creek.
I recently completed a cherry & birds-eye maple cradle for my new granddaughter. Before I applied the finish to the cherry, I gave it a light coat of Zinssier’s, Bulls Eye Seal Coat. I did not have any of the blotching that is so typical on cherry.

Bruce,
I have emailed you privately and you kindly replied. I just wanted to publicly say once again that the cradle is GORGEOUS! Thank you so much for your help.

I am sure that nothing I will ever turn out will be that spectacular, but you have given me something to shoot for.

Warren

[Warren White]

Agreed. This is the best place to start, IMHO. The oil really brings out the character of the figure.



Tried and True is BLO! There are three formulas...straight BLO, BLO and was and "varnish oil" which is BLO plus resin. The latter is a slightly harder finish. It should be noted that T&T is very expensive as compared to buying BLO in the gallon can at the big-box store. Yes, it doesn't have the metalic driers, but unless you have a specific reason to need that, you can just use ordinary BLO. Some folks consider T&T to be a real marketing coup, although I do like and use the product on certain projects. (Usually cherry items)

Gardern-variety BLO and the T&T variant are just fine by themselves but offer little protection on items that are used hard. (The T&T oil/wax combo is a complete finish as is the varnish oil) You can top-coat with just about anything you prefer--I use a coat of de-waxed garnett shellac to add moisture protection and either use wax as the final finishing step for items that are decorative or spray on Target Coatings Oxford PSL water-based laquer for a harder, more durable finish. I only use the dreaded polyurethane varnish when absolutely necessary--I don't like how it looks, feels, etc.

Watco is a wiping varnish and is basically varnish, oil and thiner mixed in approximately equal proportions. It does not need to be top-coated as it's already a varnish product. Buffing a coat of wax is fine as it is over any finish, but only serves to adjust the sheen; no additional protection is added.

Jim,
You are obviously an expert here and I really appreciate all of your advice and understanding. Someday I want to try shellac, but I haven't been brave enough yet. It is such a beautiful and traditional finish. As I mentioned above, I tried just T&T on a separate piece and it seemed as blotchy as the two variants I had tried. I am going to experiment some more though.

I am going to hang on to all comments. Finishing is a mystery to me, but one that I want to learn. This is the right place to do that.

To you and the others: Thank you so much. If my desk isn't an embarrassment, I will post some pictures. It will take a while because I am still completing the woodworking.

Warren

[Jim Becker]

You are obviously an expert here and I really appreciate all of your advice and understanding.

Thanks for the compliment, but I'm very much a novice when it comes to finishing. I've learned a lot from Steve Mickley who posts on another forum I "frequent".


Someday I want to try shellac, but I haven't been brave enough yet. It is such a beautiful and traditional finish.

I thought this, too...until I tried it. That coat of shellac is somewhat important for both coloration and as a barrier coat between finishes. It's really easy to brush on. Work with flakes and alcohol, however...much better and you waste less. Shellac has a short shelf life. Dewaxed is what you want, too.


As I mentioned above, I tried just T&T on a separate piece and it seemed as blotchy as the two variants I had tried. I am going to experiment some more though.

One man's "blotch" is another's "figure". I'm in the latter crowd. What you perceive as blotching is just the figure of the wood absorbing the oil at different rates. I happen to celebrate that. Here's an example of T&T original (with the beeswax):

[Roger Myers]

Roger,
Thanks for the advice as to what the table will be used for. It will be in the hall; not used except to put things in as you pass by or perhaps a beauty spot for my wife to put something on.

I tried using T&T (my can says "original wood finish") on a piece of naked cherry, but it still looks a little blotchy. I put it on thin with my finger. Do you thin the stuff?

Your bookcase looks beautiful! Someday when I grow up......

Warren

Warren...
As the cherry ages, I find that what many call "blotchy" begins to fade as the colro depens.
I put T&T on as thin as pssobile...really, really thin...buff in an hour, buff with 0000 steel wool the next day and recoat...generally 4-6 coats...
I do not thin the finish...but a little goes a very long way. When I buff after an hour, the closth is picking up much finish, and I buff till its stops picking any up at all. As I said, lots and lots of opinions on finishing cherry...
Thanks for the comment on the case - I'll post a pic when it comes out of the shop.
Roger

[Jim Becker]

I do not thin the finish...but a little goes a very long way.

Agreed. I actually heat it to about 135º prior to application to get better penetration into the wood. This is the same technique that Thos Moser uses with BLO on his furniture. I have a small hot plate in the shop and heat a pan of water which is used futher to heat the oil. A candy thermometer or similar is used to judge the tempuration. You don't want hotter, both for personal comfort and it's just not needed.