Finishing my Picture Frame

[jgfore]

OK. I am on the down hill slope of finishing a very large (24" x 36") picture frame for my parents Anniversary. The frame is made of cherry and is really turning out nice, however knowing how to finish it is starting to build some stress. The furniture in their house is a cherry finish (commercial furniture so probably not real cherry but a stain). So, how do I get my cherry frame to match without compromising the true cherry wood. If I am just going to stain it to match, then I guess I could have just used white pine. I really need this to look nice with a deep finish. I am very new to finishes and need to stay away from any very complicated tricks.

Jeff

[jgfore]

Oh Yea!! I almost forgot. The cherry that is in their house is very dark, and the natural cherry that I have is not nearly as dark. I know that when I add a finish that it will darken some and cherry will darken with age. Nevertheless, there is my problem.

Jeff

[PaulMarcel]

A popular and rightfully so answer will be to get it ready for finishing then set it outside in the sun to tan. Maybe repeat for a couple days. You'll get it dark fairly quickly. If anything, you'll want a naturally-darkened frame to start with before staining it or whatever color you pick today will darken. If it looks nice after the tan, I'd clear-coat it. It doesn't have to match if it is the same species, IMHO. Then again, I like asymmetry and that seems gauche 'round here

[MarkC]

I have worked with 1000s of bd ft of cherry. It has a boat load of finishing factors that come into play. Here are my thoughts on getting it to match your parents existing furniture.

This may even be too late, since I am posting 2 months after your first post.

The solution is test...test....test.. Take the cherry cut offs and test finish them with different degrees of dark stain. Get it so it is close to the final. Dont worry if the cherry is "tanned" or not. Cherry will reach a point of no return on darkness. So shoot for the goal of matching what you can see. Two things are true here... 1. The cherry wood will get darker as it exposed to sunlight. You will never be able to control that process. How quickly and how dark it goes is in mother nature's hands. 2. The finish you use will fade al little as it is exposed to UV.

So try to get the best match with what you can see today and dont guess where you think it might go (how dark it will get) in the future.

Oh there is a third thing that is true. Your parents are going to love it...no matter what finish it is.

[jgfore]

A popular and rightfully so answer will be to get it ready for finishing then set it outside in the sun to tan. Maybe repeat for a couple days. You'll get it dark fairly quickly. If anything, you'll want a naturally-darkened frame to start with before staining it or whatever color you pick today will darken. If it looks nice after the tan, I'd clear-coat it. It doesn't have to match if it is the same species, IMHO. Then again, I like asymmetry and that seems gauche 'round here

What clear coat would you recommend. Could I use any Poly coat (mini-wax, etc.). I have never used or bought a clear coat or finish, so any suggestions would be helpful.

Thanks

Jeff

[jgfore]

I have worked with 1000s of bd ft of cherry. It has a boat load of finishing factors that come into play. Here are my thoughts on getting it to match your parents existing furniture.

This may even be too late, since I am posting 2 months after your first post.

The solution is test...test....test.. Take the cherry cut offs and test finish them with different degrees of dark stain. Get it so it is close to the final. Dont worry if the cherry is "tanned" or not. Cherry will reach a point of no return on darkness. So shoot for the goal of matching what you can see. Two things are true here... 1. The cherry wood will get darker as it exposed to sunlight. You will never be able to control that process. How quickly and how dark it goes is in mother nature's hands. 2. The finish you use will fade al little as it is exposed to UV.

So try to get the best match with what you can see today and dont guess where you think it might go (how dark it will get) in the future.

Oh there is a third thing that is true. Your parents are going to love it...no matter what finish it is.

Is there a certian type or brand of stain that I should use?

[PaulMarcel]

What clear coat would you recommend. Could I use any Poly coat (mini-wax, etc.). I have never used or bought a clear coat or finish, so any suggestions would be helpful.

Thanks

Jeff

A super easy one would be to rag on (then rag off ) Seal-A-Cell. I love the color it brings to wood. Arm-R-Seal is also easy to apply and works well, but I don't think it has the same color.

I know many here swear by Waterlox (Rick?!) and I recently saw a project done in Waterlox and it looks very rich. Not the cheapest stuff, though.

[AceHoleInOne]

I like General Finishes brand for stains and such. For picture frames, nothing is easier than a a topcoat of lacquer in a spray can.

-Ace-

[jgfore]

A super easy one would be to rag on (then rag off ) Seal-A-Cell. I love the color it brings to wood. Arm-R-Seal is also easy to apply and works well, but I don't think it has the same color.

I know many here swear by Waterlox (Rick?!) and I recently saw a project done in Waterlox and it looks very rich. Not the cheapest stuff, though.

Ok. I have another question for ya. I glued two boards together inorder to arrive at the thickness on the fram that I needed. I could not get the edges ABSOLUTELY PERFECT. So, I have a little over lap on the sides. Should I run it bacl through the jointer to even the surfaces, and then run the other side through my table saw. I know that this would work, but I am worried about the possibility of the jointer damaging the glued joints. Any suggestions will help.

Thanks

Jeff

[AceHoleInOne]

Ok. I have another question for ya. I glued two boards together inorder to arrive at the thickness on the fram that I needed. I could not get the edges ABSOLUTELY PERFECT. So, I have a little over lap on the sides. Should I run it bacl through the jointer to even the surfaces, and then run the other side through my table saw. I know that this would work, but I am worried about the possibility of the jointer damaging the glued joints. Any suggestions will help.

Thanks

Jeff

I have not done this with cherry, but other woods I have, you should be fine. Just make sure you take light cuts and your knives are sharp. Don't see why you can't run the other side over the jointer. Your going to run a profile correct ? So chances are you will have to skim cut about a 16th and re-route your profile. So just make sure you leave your frame a little thicker...or is it wider

-Ace-

[jgfore]

A popular and rightfully so answer will be to get it ready for finishing then set it outside in the sun to tan. Maybe repeat for a couple days. You'll get it dark fairly quickly. If anything, you'll want a naturally-darkened frame to start with before staining it or whatever color you pick today will darken. If it looks nice after the tan, I'd clear-coat it. It doesn't have to match if it is the same species, IMHO. Then again, I like asymmetry and that seems gauche 'round here

Paul,

I really need for this frame to be completed in the next week (parents Anniversary). The weather here in Alabama has all of a sudden turned rainy. Do you think that I could get the same results by placing the boards in my wifes tanning bed? If the UV rays are the main contributer to the tanning process, it only seemd right that by placing them in the tanning bed, I could speed up the process.

Jeff

[PaulMarcel]

I really need for this frame to be completed in the next week (parents Anniversary). The weather here in Alabama has all of a sudden turned rainy. Do you think that I could get the same results by placing the boards in my wifes tanning bed? If the UV rays are the main contributer to the tanning process, it only seemd right that by placing them in the tanning bed, I could speed up the process.

Good question. If you have the tanning bed and don't need to rent it, why not try a scrap of the cherry. Put some painter's tape over part of it and pop it in there for a couple hours. Should be able to remove the tape and see the difference it made. Something more interesting might be to take a longer offcut, wrap it with 6 bands of painters tape. Remove one band after every hour in the booth. Might be interesting to see the result

So, it is supposed to tan via UV so I'd expect the result would work!