Cherry - seal against UV or use an alternative??

[paul simonson]

Fairly new woodworker here, bear with me.

I've worked with Cherry hardwood and I'm a big fan of the color and visual look to it after it's been planed and sanded. But Cherry darkens over time which doesn't suit me. Is there a varnish (or similar) I could use that would seal Cherry from moisture movement and from UV light so that it won't darken?

If not, then I guess plan B would be to use a different wood that has a similar color and visual appeal. I've got the impression Alder would be a possibility. Is this true and are there any other possible alternatives?

[John C Cox]

Nothing that will permanently keep it from darkening.

An alternative - "Red" maple heartwood and "red" birch heartwood bear a striking resemblance to Cherry... Except they barely darken with uv/oxygen over time.....

I have even run into situations where both of those are passed off as "Cherry" because of their color/look....

In fact - I built a guitar out or "Cherry" which I subsequently (10 years after I bought it when I finally built a guitar out of it) discovered was actually heartwood birch... It looks just like cherry when cherry is fresh.... But it neither smells like cherry, nor darkens with light.

[Jim Becker]

You can slightly delay the onset of oxidation/darkening of cherry, but you cannot stop it permanently. If you absolutely need to stay close to a particular color, you may be better served to use a different species of close-grained hardwood and dye it to the color you want to approximate. Alder is one of the good choices for going that direction. ALL wood species will change color over time from oxidation and UV, no matter how you finish them, however. That's the nature of the beast. Some get darker and a few get lighter (walnut gets lighter)...

[Lee Schierer]

I've noticed that some of the water based finishes have UV inhibitors which slow the darkening effects on wood. I made a computer stand out of red oak and many years after I made it it was still quite light in color. I used the MinWax Polyacrylic finish.

[John TenEyck]

I've noticed very little change in color of some cherry I finished about 8 years ago with GF's High Performance Poly which has a UV stabilizer package in it. SW's Kem Aqua Plus also has a good UV package. But as others have said, if you want it stay the same color indefinietly (no such thing, actually) then you would be better off with a wood species that ages less.

FWIW, cherry without a UV protectant finish will darken in the short term (a year or two) when exposed to UV light, but it will bleach almost white from direct sunlight exposure for several years. Over the long haul, the sun bleaches pretty much everything.

John

[Stan Calow]

I believe a lot of commercially made "cherry" furniture, is red alder. The manufacturers want the color to be stable, and most customers only care that its red.