Another Cherry question

[Mike Conley]

I have made a few pieces out of Cherry but I have always used a poly/oil finish.

I am thinking about refacing some cabinets and replacing the doors with Cherry but my wife does not want the poly/oil finish. She wants a dark finish.

I know that stain can blotch on cherry.

What about dye? Will it blotch also?

Any suggestions for finishes on kitchen cabinets?

[Jim Becker]

As much as I hate to admit it, I've used water soluable dye on cherry to successfully darken it for a specific project. If the cherry is figured, you can still get a little of what you call "blotch", but that's just the way that figure absorbs the preparation you are applying.

I don't use Poly on anything if I can avoid it. My kitchen is finished with Target Coatings water borne (PSL which was replaced with USL in their line) Over three years and it looks brand new.

[Mike Conley]

Is this the finish you are talking about?

Target Coatings Oxford Ultima Spray Lacquer (USL)

http://www.targetcoatings.com/oxford-spray-lacquer.html

I don't have spray equipment. Can this be wiped?

[Jim Becker]

There is an article on the Target Coatings site that speaks about hand-applying USL.

[Larry Fox]

Mike, might also want to look at one of the Gel stains (Bartleys is one). If you opt for a more natural finish and want to let mother nature do the rest over time - which yields a VERY pleasing result IMHO - check to see if your topcoat has UV protection. If it does, it will likely retard this natural color change. If I am not mistaken, Target coatings do contain a UV agent. Best to call Target directly and ask.

All this said, I have their conversion varnish on my kitchen cabinets (which are cherry) and they are simply wonderful products.

One thing about the spray vs wipe, ability to do it or not aside, if you are doing a kitchen you are dealing with a tremendous amount of surface area and it might be worth the investment to pick up a spray outfit. They are available used (which is how I bought mine) and they do make things go much faster.

[Steve Schoene]

Just a couple of points. Make sure that before you dye the cherry (and I agree that's the way to go--if you must) that you do give the cherry a bit of time to "suntan" before you decide how dark the dye will be. Cherry will continue to darken under the dye, so if you go dark to begin with, in a year or two it will be really dark.

Remember too that sapwood doesn't darken like the heartwood does, so don't just use the dye as an excuse to not be as careful with the sapwood--either removing it, or using it in well thought out patterns.

[Russ Filtz]

I would not use anything called a "stain" on Cherry. You need to go with a dye, such as TransTint, or suffer the blotchies! The main difference is the "grain" size of the colorant particles. Typical stains will have larger sized grain and will tend to set on top of the wood fibers and cause the blotchiness. Dyes are processed to a finer grain which can penetrate better.

Why not try to pre-darken the cherry in the sun, and then still use oil? Unless you're really going dark! You could also try to use more heartwood than sapwood. I did a stereo stand with it and it darkened up pretty fast. Almost too dark now after a couple years.

Cherry will continue to darken pretty much forever, whereas walnut can actually lighten over long periods of time (learned that from watching Mr. Marks!)

[Dave Novak]

What do you guys think of Watco Danish tung oils? I use these almost exclusively when I need color. Although, usually when I want color I just buy whatever species of wood is necessary to achieve it without staining, but even then I'll use Watco clear oil just to harden it up.

[Steve Schoene]

I like Watco, but there is no tung oil in it, it is a mix of linseed oil, varnish, and thinner. The oil/varnish mix does give a bit harder finish than oil by itself.

[Russ Filtz]

I always use a mix of pure Tung, mineral spirits, and some clear poly. I think Lineseed darkens more than Tung, but it seems to do the job! I'm one of the Cherry purists, NO COLORIZING CHERRY!! :D Leave that to the Turner Network and old B/W movies. :p

[Bert Johansen]

Mike, thought you might like to see a sample of what the trans-tint dye can do for you. Before applying a finish on this project, I applied a liberal coat of red mahogany trans tint dye. It looks bright pink at first, but don't let that deter you. The first seal coat (I use shellac) brings out the lovely color seen here.
You can see the photo in this link: http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=28420