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Thread: Finishing Cherry countertop

  1. #1
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    Finishing Cherry countertop

    I'm about to finish construction and sanding on a 38"x80" cherry countertop of our kitchen island. There is an electric cooktop in this island, no sink. The finish plan, I have sanded the top to 320 and bottom to 12O, was planning to apply coats of Waterlox Sealer/Finish and then a coat of Waterlox Satin Finish to tone down the gloss. I have some cutoffs for finish testing. My wife has asked about if we may need to apply a stain to even out the color. Not sure I want to apply stain on this project but if testing we decide to stain, is it acceptable to apply an oil based stain between the Waterlox Sealer/Finish and the Satin finish? Will this sealer stop blotching if we apply stain? Recommendations appreciated.

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  2. #2
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    Why in the world would you stain cherry? Natural wood has a lovely collection of colors. Stained cherry tends to one color -- the color of the stain. Why "even out the color?" If you want even color, use single-color formica.

  3. #3
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    This cherry will darken and gain a beautiful patina over the next few years. You don't want to put any stain on it...

  4. #4
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    +3 for the no-stain-the-cherry camp.

    Your cherry will pop nicely with the first application of the oil based finish you intend to use. One thing...since you have a cooktop in that island, it's absolutely necessary for there to be trivets available for any hot items to be set on while one is cooking. It doesn't take much heat for the wood top to get marked, especially with species like cherry and maple which have high sugar contents. (DAMHIKT!) I use silicone trivets for this purpose personally.
    --

    The most expensive tool is the one you buy "cheaply" and often...

  5. #5
    I would also just go with your plan (no stain).

    Actually cherry can have wide variations in hues and grain patterns so board selection can be quite a process. I think thats ok on a countertop, but not a piece of furniture. But its a personal decision on your part.

    Charles Neil applied a water based dye stain to a cherry dresser in a finishing class I watched (I believe it was a mixture of cinnamon and cherry water based dye stain). As I recall, his explanation was that it evened out the color variations & essentially makes the piece look 10 years old, which makes the piece more appealing to the client as opposed to explaining how it will all even out eventually.

    After building a cherry dresser myself, and painfully worrying about some slight variations in depth of color on the drawer dividers, after sitting in our bedroom for a year and a half, it is true that the color will even out, but you can still tell a slight variation.

    I used Danish oil on the dresser for the primary finish, which definitely popped the figure, followed only by wax and it looks fantastic.

  6. #6
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    Fellows, thanks for the good input. You've talked me into carrying our my original plan using the Waterlox only, no stain. Just haven't done a cherry countertop before and needed some assurance I'm moving in the right direction.

  7. #7
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    Given the nature of this project, I suggest you do more coats of the finish that you normally would for a piece of furniture.
    --

    The most expensive tool is the one you buy "cheaply" and often...

  8. #8
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    I don't know if you have started the finishing process yet, but you can get a rough idea of what it will look like without stain by wetting the surface with mineral spirits. Let the mineral spirits evaporate and then do your finishing schedule.

    P.S. I don't like stain on cherry either. If the lighter color sap wood bothers you, eliminate it in the build process, don't try to hide it with finish.
    Lee Schierer
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  9. #9
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    I lucked out having very little sap wood. When I started this project I purchased 8/4 x 6" x 8' stock. When I got it planned to my surprise there was just two boards with a narrow 1" wide strips of sapwood. I cut most of that out before glue up but a little sapwood can still be seen on the underside, the top has none.
    Last edited by julian abram; 07-04-2018 at 9:50 AM.

  10. #10
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    I built a cherry island about 9 years ago for our house we were building. It aged beautifully no stain just clear finish. Pass on the stain!

  11. #11
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    I brushed the first coat of Waterlox Sealer/finisher today, sure did pop the grain/color. Of course it looks very uneven after the first coat. I'm trying to decide if this should be lightly sanded before the next coat. Instructions seem to indicate sanding is not necessary but the rough texture left after this first coat makes me think it should be lightly knocked down with some 400 grit or 0000 steel wool. Any recommendations?
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  12. #12
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    Julian, there's a difference between "sanding" and knocking down the fuzzies that are almost unavoidable during the finishing process, especially for the first couple of finish coats. I generally use 320 or 400 wet and dry to do that early on and a white synthetic pad after each subsequent coat, cleaning between.
    --

    The most expensive tool is the one you buy "cheaply" and often...

  13. #13
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    Finished the counter top and installed it with a new cooktop today. We think it turned out great, got the wife and mother-in-law seal of approval. Ended up put 3 coats of Water Lox on the underside and 5 coats on the top. The last coat was satin Water Lox. Wet sanded with 600 between each coat and a light wet sand with 1200 after the final coat to knock our a few nibs. Thanks to Jim and others for recommendations and guidance through this process.
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  14. #14
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    Gorgeous! Good call on not using stain.


  15. #15
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    Wow...that is really beautiful!!

    Please be sure to post this in the Woodworking Projects area which is there for finished projects and builds.
    --

    The most expensive tool is the one you buy "cheaply" and often...

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