Need special Cherry finish


Southwood

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I like a thin coat of BLO and shellac on curly cherry.   You can use zinnser seal coat, diluted with denatured alcohol by qbout 50%.  It will wipe on easily and give you a nice polished but not glossy look. 

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1 hour ago, estesbubba said:

I think BLO muddies cherry grain but that might work in your favor for curly cherry. I'm a fan of garnet shellac on cherry to give it nice color and depth. 

too many people over do it with the BLO.  A little dab will do ya!  literally i get a rag damp with BLO then squeeze out as much out of the rag as I can.  I then lightly rub the the rag against my project to give it a little color and highlight the figure.     

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One more vote for amber or garnet shellac. If you dont like it as a top coat you can always go over it with something else and still achieve that nice glow underneath from the shellac. And you'll have a smooth, easily sandable foundation for your top coat.

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Very thin shellac in like a bajillion coats is my go to for a slightly more durable finish and completely dummy proof

I have been playing with danish oil lately, awesome results, it looks nice and is dead simple. Buffs well and adds depth

I love tung oil and walnut oil too. Again another dead simple finish, just takes a while.

 

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If a deep, aged color is what you are after, I like to spray on a coat of dye, then follow with several coats of shellac or lacquer. To avoid botching, I dissolve the dye in half denatured alcohol and half lacquer thinner, then mist it on until I build the color depth I want. Because it dries almost instantly, this mix of dye won't blotch or raise grain. A light sanding followed by a second coat can help highlight the figure.

I have used Danish oil, but it isn't my favorite because it doesn't wear well without a protective finish over it. On porous woods, it can take forever to dry completely. For a natural finish with a satiny fell, try applying one coat, let it dry, then use 600 grit wet-dry paper to sand on the next coats.

Shellac is one of my favorite finishes. Wipe-on, spray or brush all work. Apply several coats, sand or steel wool, coat some more. It can be very natural looking and feeling.

Let us know what you use and how it works out!

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  • 2 weeks later...

I heard a furniture maker being interviewed on a podcast recently. I think it was the 360 Woodworking guys, but I forget the maker's name. Anyway, he said his secret to blotch-free cherry was sanding to 400-600 grit. Makes sense, as sanding end grain that high will prevent it from turning darker than the face grain under finish.

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  • 4 weeks later...

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