Cherry wood glue splotches

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Late

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Hi everyone

First post. Sorry if I've put this in the wrong place.

I've been working on a cherry wood box, my first project! I didn't want to stain the wood, because of all the problems with uneven stain and blotching with cherry. So I've decided to go straight to varnish with polyeurathane and let the wood darken naturally. The varnish has a slight tint of yellow and has revealed some glue splotches. Some sanding has not managed to sort the problem.

Given that it's cherry wood, which darkens in sunlight and will eventually be darker than the yellow tint in the poleurathane, if I leave the glue splotches and let them darken naturally over time under varnish (leaving the box in natural sunlight), will they eventually come to be close to the colour of the rest of the wood? Is there another solution?

Thanks in advance for your help!
 
I should probably add that the reason the sanding hasn't worked is that the glue, while invisible, appears to have gone into the wood pores and I cannot sand or scrape any further than I now have without creating a depression in the wood.
 
Did you wipe off your excess glue with a damp cloth?

You hear this advice all over the place but personally I would never do it, you can actually dissolve/dilute the glue which then goes deeper into the grain/pores of the wood - particularly when using open grained timbers such as Oak or Sapele.

if you have alot of excess glue you are using too much glue in the first place - small beads of glue though can be very easily removed with a sharp chisel once the glue has fully cured and negates the unsightly marks which then appear when your furniture is polished.

Rog
 
Thanks Rog. You know what? I thought I had but it turns out I missed a corner with the damp rag. I think my mistake was to mix fine saw dust and wood glue to act as filler for some minor imperfections in the corner joint - that's what led to the smear. Oh well there's only one way to learn.

Thanks for the advice!
 
Hi

It's a bit late for this advice I know but sometimes it's worth finishing the piece before you assemble it. Mask off the joints first. By finishing first you don't have any difficult corners to finish into, or glue splotches! When you assemble leave any squeeze our until it has almost hardened off then you can peel it off the finished surface.

Chris
 
It's good advice! I'll be sure to take it next time.

I wonder if you, or anyone else, has some thoughts about whether that patch will darken in natural light and eventually come to be close to the rest of the wood? It's only the amber tint in the polyeurathane that hasn't taken on the glue splotches and cherry wood will darken substantially over time. At least... that's how I understand it.
 
Late":2lqzp9ph said:
mix fine saw dust and wood glue to act as filler

Thanks for the advice!

AAARRRRGGGHHH! - No don't do it - worst filler ever and always leaves marks

Mixing saw dust and pva - the devils work!
 
It will always be visible just by the fact that it will reflect light differently. You don't say which glue you used but it might be possible to redissolve it. Put some of the glue on an off cut of your Cherry and allow it to thoroughly dry. With PVA/Titebond you can try water or Meths.
 
MIGNAL":3l9o0qyn said:
It will always be visible just by the fact that it will reflect light differently. You don't say which glue you used but it might be possible to redissolve it. Put some of the glue on an off cut of your Cherry and allow it to thoroughly dry. With PVA/Titebond you can try water or Meths.

"EVO-STIK WOOD adhesive"
 
Right, it's PVA based so I've tried some Sansodor (Low Odour Solvent) for want of some actual meths. I've given it a wipe over with a water-dapened rag afterwards. The colours are looking much more consistent. Here's hoping that the joint glue doesn't melt!

Thank you everyone for all your help!
 
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