Cubist Woodworker Posted August 4, 2015 Report Share Posted August 4, 2015 I just finished a dinning table centerpiece prototype using cheap pine board finished with Watco Natural Danish oil. I'm now about to start another copy using cherry. I really liked the simplicity of the Watco finish so I thought of trying the Cherry version of their Danish oil. Does anyone have experience with Watco Cherry Danish Oil on cherry wood? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wdwerker Posted August 4, 2015 Report Share Posted August 4, 2015 I gets pretty red. Try it on a scrap first. Natural will let the real cherry color come out. Cherry is photo sensitive , it will darken with age . Sometimes I will put a sanded cherry piece out in the bright mid-day sun for a few hours to get some color started before oiling or finishing.. Try it with a scrap and cover part with some blue tape. That will show you how much it really darkened. I have heard of people using tanning beds too. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shaneymack Posted August 4, 2015 Report Share Posted August 4, 2015 Here is a picture of a project i did out maple and cherry. I used watco natrual danish oil as a finish. I love the look and ease of application. It really brings the cherry to life. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
estesbubba Posted August 4, 2015 Report Share Posted August 4, 2015 IMO cherry shines with a natural finish. If you want to color cherry then just use maple. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cubist Woodworker Posted August 4, 2015 Author Report Share Posted August 4, 2015 Wdwerker, I didn't know that about cherry, I'll give it a try, good advice!Shaneymack, thats a beautiful bench, that much color with natural finish, wow. Makes me want to build a version of my centerpiece using several types of wood to see how it would look.Estesbubba, I really like natural too but it would be worth getting cans of maple and cherry finish too. As wdwerker suggested, putting it on several scrapes and also finishing some that have been out in the sun. This would be an interesting experiment.Thanks guys! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wdwerker Posted August 4, 2015 Report Share Posted August 4, 2015 He was referring to using maple wood instead of cherry if you are going to stain or color it. There is no "Maple " colored Watco . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gilgaron Posted August 4, 2015 Report Share Posted August 4, 2015 If I want to add a little color to cherry I use some garnet shellac. It adds just a little red tones so the fresh cherry doesn't look too pale, and then after a bit the cherry's natural darkening overtakes it and you're left with just some natural looking aged cherry. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cubist Woodworker Posted August 5, 2015 Author Report Share Posted August 5, 2015 Wow, I've got a lot to learn about wood finishes. I appreciate all the good advise guys. I'll let you see how it turns out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
estesbubba Posted August 5, 2015 Report Share Posted August 5, 2015 Wow, I've got a lot to learn about wood finishes. I appreciate all the good advise guys. I'll let you see how it turns out.There is no substitute to practicing finish on scraps. If you can't get it right on a small board then it surely isn't going to work on a more complicated project. Want to have some beers and play in your shop on a Friday then grab some test boards and experiment with finishes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cubist Woodworker Posted August 30, 2015 Author Report Share Posted August 30, 2015 (edited) I did a test with the cherry wood I bought. I took a seven inch piece and using a sheet of paper I covered a 3.5 inch area in the center to block sunlight.Here what it looked like after five hours of sun exposure.I cut this piece in half and finished one half with Watco Danish Oil Natural Finish and the other with Watco Danish Oil Cherry Finish.I sanded with 80, 100, 120, 150, 180, 220, 320. I then applied 3 coats of each finish according to Watco's directions.Here is what that looked like:At first they did not look that different other than the sun exposure but then I zoomed in. Here is a closeup of the Watco Danish Oil in Natural finish:And here is the Cherry finish.The cherry finish really brought out the finer grain and gave the wood a redder tint. I also really like how the sun exposure gave the wood a brown tone. I think I would be happy with any of these choices but I may try to expose the entire piece to the sun and use the Cherry finish to bring out those fine bits of wood grain. Now I need to build myself a rotisserie to make sure the finished piece is fully exposed to the sun Edited August 30, 2015 by Cubist Woodworker Extra images at end of post. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wtnhighlander Posted August 30, 2015 Report Share Posted August 30, 2015 I am currently testing some cherry as well. I used some iron acetate on a piece, and within 15 minutes it was a little darker than you sun-exposed piece. I used a thin coat of amber shellac to make it redder, but I like how your Danish Oil turned out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tpt life Posted August 30, 2015 Report Share Posted August 30, 2015 The "cherry" sample looks blotchy. Controlling the blotch might alter the hue slightly. I would test with that control as part of your test. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
treeslayer Posted August 30, 2015 Report Share Posted August 30, 2015 i have used cherry watco finish, it helped me to use natural watco on the first coat then go with the cherry watco, seemed not to be so blotchy that way. not a big fan of using any kind of stain on cherry, i like to let it darken on its own 90% of the time Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Indy Cindy Posted August 30, 2015 Popular Post Report Share Posted August 30, 2015 Before I was a woodworker I hated 'cherry' wood because little did I know that it was really cherry colored some-other-wood. It was red and overbearing and looked fake. Now that I am a woodworker I know about real cherry wood and it is GORGEOUS in all its natural splendor. It takes time for the color to fully develop. Here are a couple pictures of a table I made in 2012, finished with Arm-R-Seal natural. The first picture was then, the second is now. This table lives in a different room than where I took the pictures and gets no direct sunlight, I imagine the color change would happen quicker in a brighter room. When I first finished the table I thought it looked bland but was told the color would become richer and darker. I am REALLY glad I left it natural and did not stain it. 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wdwerker Posted August 30, 2015 Report Share Posted August 30, 2015 Nice work Cindy!It's amazing what a few hours in the bright midday sun will do to get the color darker on a brand new piece. Or a tanning bed if the piece will fit. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eric. Posted August 30, 2015 Report Share Posted August 30, 2015 Cindy ends it with a mic drop. Case closed. Let wood be wood. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cubist Woodworker Posted August 30, 2015 Author Report Share Posted August 30, 2015 @wtnhighlanderI had not heard of using iron acetate on cherry before. I Googled it and saw this article http://www.wwgoa.com/article/ebonizing-wood/Looks interesting but I like the simplicity of a oil finish. I'll file that away to try another time, Thanks!@C Shaffer I'm not sure where the blotching is, but then I don't notice when my wife gets her hair done either and I get into trouble. I'll have to develop an eye for that.@treeslayer Good point, I did the same thing (Use natural to help prevent blotching) on the pine prototype versions I built. Seemed to work well but I'm not sure I have an eye for seeing it as well as others.@Indy Cindy Beautiful table! Very noticeable how it has darkened, well done.Thank you for all the great feedback, I just finished my second prototype this weekend (upper left in photo) in pine (Watco Natural Danish Oil). This time I cut the pieces so the grain would flow from piece to piece.I also like the way the end grain ran along the edge (front) compared to the first prototype (back).I'll post my final result once I'm finished. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cubist Woodworker Posted October 3, 2015 Author Report Share Posted October 3, 2015 (edited) I wanted to follow up with the final results. I ended up using Watco Danish Oil in natural on the final build using Cherry wood. After sanding I put the piece out in the sun for about 15 hours, turning it every few hours to even out the exposure. I really like the final results and more importantly my wife likes it Edited October 3, 2015 by Cubist Woodworker Extra photos. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coop Posted October 4, 2015 Report Share Posted October 4, 2015 Great looking finish to a really cool looking piece! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wtnhighlander Posted October 4, 2015 Report Share Posted October 4, 2015 Very good results! And a very unique design, as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wdwerker Posted October 4, 2015 Report Share Posted October 4, 2015 Very successful design and execution !I really appreciate the effort that went into sanding all that end grain. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bgreenb Posted October 5, 2015 Report Share Posted October 5, 2015 Very cool looking piece, and I'm glad you went natural. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cubist Woodworker Posted October 5, 2015 Author Report Share Posted October 5, 2015 Thank you, I believe that the sun exposure made a big difference so going with Natural was an easy choice. Yes, after 80 grit it was hand sanding all the way to 320. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mary in Tulsa Posted June 6, 2020 Report Share Posted June 6, 2020 I have two cherry midcentury tables my dad made in the 60s. They need refinishing and I was undecided about what finish to use. You guys sold me on the Danish natural. They have aged beautifully and it should show the color nicely. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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