Sorting the Options for Finishing Cherry

[Don Boyce]

I've made my first table out of cherry. It's been sanded with 320 grit paper at this point. It's 24" wide x 28" high x 28" deep. The cherry is fairly even in color so I don't want to put any stain on it. I've checked out a couple of books: Jeff Jewitt's book on Finishing and another by Sam Allen. While educational, these don't layout a recommendation for what I need to do to finish this table. Also there are too many options so putting together a finishing process seems pretty daunting. I'd like some help!

Here are some considerations:
- I'd like a satin, not a glossy finish
- I want a fairly durable finish
- I expect to hand-apply any finishes, rather than use a spray gun
- I don't want to have to wax it on a regular basis to keep it looking good
- Since it's cherry and has a tight grain, I don't expect to have to use a grain filler
- I live in the south (NC) where it can get humid in the summer
- I want to be able to put a cold drink on the table (in our den) without worrying about damaging the finish
- The lamp table has pretty straight design lines...no ornate curved surfaces

Any recommedations on how to seal and finish this project is greatly appreciated.

[Jim Becker]

A wipe on varnish sounds like just the ticket. You can start with an application of BLO and a barrier layer of de-waxed shellac first if you want the grain and color enhancing effects they can produce, but an oil-based varnish thinned 50/50 with mineral spirits is an easy way to go and will give you some of the pop on the first coat that the BLO would otherwise. You'll want to apply 8-12 coats when wiping on.

Regardless of the finish you use...coasters are still a good idea for sweaty drinks... ;)

[Glenn Madsen]

Jim's right. A thinned varnish looks really sweet, and will last quite some time.

I used McCloskey's (sp?) gloss, thinned at 30%+ with naptha on the cherry on the master bath. The thinning, and the hand wiping, cut the shiny gloss you were hoping to avoid.

I did a cherry clock case in an oil varnish, and got less protection, and less gloss, but it's pretty. Nobody puts anything wet on that, however.

Sample boards are quite useful, if you have the finishing products on hand already...

[Don Boyce]

Thanks to you both. Looking in my local Home Depot the only "wipe-on varnish" they have is "Minwax Wipe-on Poly." Is this the kind of wipe on, oil-based varnish you were recommending? If not, where do I find the right stuff?

I have heard about a mix called "Sam Maloof's Recipe." I believe it is a mix of tung oil, varnish and mineral spirits. Have either of you used this? Is this similar to what you've recommended: BLO followed by a Shellac sealer followed by wipe-on, oil-based varnish?

[Glenn Madsen]

Well, you hit a nerve. Sorry. You didn't know.

Some folks like Minwax wipe-on poly, but I'm not one of them. And I don't really want to talk about it, because it's a visceral thing.

If you're buying products at Home Depot or the like, look for McCloskey's oil based varnish, in gloss. I rather like the Spar style, but it's softer, and less protective. A quart shouldn't cost more than $17 or so, maybe less.

Now get a quart or so of VMP Naptha, a faster drying solvent, also in the paint department.

Now find a squeeze bottle, with a top, not unlike what yellow mustard comes in, but clearish, if possible. The craft stores sell them, as do the dollar stores. So does Rockler, but they're a little more money there.

Put about 6 oz. of the varnish in the squeeze bottle, then add about 3 oz of the naptha. Exact amounts aren't critical - just get the proportions about right. Put the lid on and shake it up. Ignore the part on the can that says not to thin the varnish. They just wanted not to have to do all of the testing for all of the various thinning concentrations, and their lawyers probably made them do it.

Squeeze some of this onto a clean, disposable rag, and wipe it gently onto your project. Don't go too heavy, and keep it moving. Let it soak a bit, and go back over it within five or ten minutes. Let it dry, and do it again in a couple of hours. After two or three coats, let it dry a day or so. Leave the windows open, and let the fumes air out.

When you have 6 or 8 coats on this, let it cure for a week. Then we can talk about waxes...;)

[Steve Schoene]

When you mix oil and varnish, regardless of how much thinner is in the mix, the end result is an only moderately protective finish that is soft enough that it must be well wiped off the surface. It would look very much like an BLO finish.

But thinning a varnish just gives thinner coats of varnish. These can be allowed to build into a film that offers considerable protection. You don't need to buy products labeled wiping varnish--that's mostly a manufacturer's device to sell thinner at the price as varnish. Wipe on varnish tends to require about 3 coats to be equivalent to one coat of brushed on varnish. Most satin varnishes are a bit tricky when used as a wiping varnish, you have to keep the product well stirred to avoid streaks where the gloss is different. In addition to the McCloskey Heirloom, already mentioned, Pratt & Lambert 38, and Behlen Rockhard are all very good products. The first two are relatively light colored and the Rockhard a bit darker.

One wiping varnish brand I do like quite a bit is Waterlox. Waterlox comes in three flavors, Original/Sealer, which gives a mellow gloss (semi-gloss) that is very nice, Satin which gives a satin finish, and Gloss which.... The Gloss is a bit thicker and might like to be thinned a little for easy wiping.

[Don Boyce]

Thanks for the advice. My local Home Depot and their website don't have any McCloskey or other of the products Steve mentioned. While they have Zinnser shellac and naphtha, they don't even have Boiled Linseed Oil. I did see some formulated tung oil blends but that's it. I plan to try some of the paint stores or go over to the local Klingspor store to get the other components.

[Don Boyce]

Dear Jim,

Just to get this right...your recommendation is to apply a layer of BLO, let it dry and then apply a layer of shellac to create the barrier before applying the oil varnish? You're not recommending mixing the BLO with the shellac and applying that?

[Jim Becker]

Don, you do not mix the BLO and shellac. With a shellac barrier coat, you can also get away with not waiting until the BLO fully cures...a couple days is fine.

[Christof Grohs]

Just make sure you buy the de-waxed shellac, aka SealCoat.

[Steve Schoene]

Dewaxed shellac is good, but only really necessary under polyurethane varnish or waterborne finishes. Traditional resin varnishes will adhere to shellac that still contains its natural wax.

[Jim Frank]

Is it OK to apply Minwax Lacquer (spray can) over BLO once it dries? Or is this a "No-No"? Thanks.

[Steve Schoene]

Lacquer contains stronger solvents than varnishes but you won't have a problem if you allow a bit longer for the oil to cure than to just "dry" In warm dry conditions I'd think 3-4 days would be safe. And, using an aerosol for application means light coats that would be less risky anyway.

[Jim Frank]

Great! Thanks Steve. I've typically used Minwax spray Poly Satin over BLO, but after reading many many posts here about other types of finishes, I'm curious about trying lacquer. I'll give it a try.

[Don Bullock]

I used spray lacquer over BLO on a cherry table and the results were very good. Just make sure that the BLO was cured I applied the lacquer about ten days after applying the BLO. Some day I'd like to try shellac over BLO, but I didn't have the time to experiment.

Don, I'm sure that your local Home Depot does have BLO. I thought the same thing about my Lowe's, but after some searching (no one around to help as usual) I was able to find it. Perhaps they don't sell very much of it so it's hard to find.;)

[Michael O'Sullivan]

Most satin varnishes are a bit tricky when used as a wiping varnish, you have to keep the product well stirred to avoid streaks where the gloss is different.Steve-

To avoid the uneven mixing/streaking issue, is there a reason not to use gloss varnish (no mixing needed) and then rub out with 0000 Steel Wool (or maybe pumice) and paraffin oil to get a satin finish?

-Mike

[Steve Schoene]

No there isn't, but once you start planning to do more than a modest buff down to take off the gloss, you might as well use a brush on varnish and a more complete rubbing out process. You have to be very delicate with a wiping varnish since the very thin coats are easier to cut through while rubbing out and reveal witness lines between the layers. Brushed on coats are about 3 times thicker, allowing more leeway before cutting through.

[Josh Youngman]

as mentioned Minwax wipe on poly is a scam. You can make the same thing using regular Minwax poly mixed with mineral spirits (50/50 works fine) for a fraction of the cost.

However, as mentioned, there are better options than minwax poly.