finish for cherry

[marcros]

I have never used cherry before, but have a couple of small items to finish. I have seen references to potential blotchyness.

My first thought would be tru-oil.

Any thoughts?

 

[Spindle]

Hi

I've made a couple of spinning wheels out of cherry, I finished them with Danish oil followed by Liberon wax. I didn't experience any blotchiness.

Regards Mick

 

[marcros]

Thanks. I will give it a try then.

 

[John15]

Hi Marcros,

I've also used Liberon Finishing Oil followed with a coat of Black Bison wax on Cherry. The result has been very good.

John

 

[Sgian Dubh]

... I have seen references to potential blotchyness.

My first thought would be tru-oil. Any thoughts?

You may well get some blotching with this finish. The reason for blotchiness in this wood is the way the grain dips in and out of the wood's exposed long grain surface, and as it does so it exposes the cut tube like structure of the vascular tissue (end grain). This sort of exposed end grain is common in pretty much all wood species where the boards are sawn out of the log, but American cherry, and other species such as hard maple, tend to be particularly prone to showing more concentrated absorption of finishes in the exposed end grain - everything from dye, to stain, to polish. You will see it in other species too, such as oak, ash, mahogany, etc, but usually less dramatically, and I'm not quite sure why cherry is particularly prone to showing it compared to other wood species.

Anyway, a way to reduce blotchiness in American cherry (and other species particularly prone to blotching) is to find a way of choking up the exposed end grain somewhat so that other finish products can't be absorbed so readily up the exposed tubes. One way is to apply a thin wash coat of something first, and shellac is good for this. Apply the shellac, let it dry thoroughly, then sand back hard to expose fresh wood in areas where there isn't exposed end grain. This leaves the exposed end grain areas partially choked with polish, thus making it less absorbent of subsequent finish products, whether they be dye, stain, or an oil finish such as linseed oil, etc.

If you've never done anything like this before I suggest you experiment on some scraps first to get the technique right. It requires a sure touch because if you have too much shellac left on the wood after sanding you can compromise absorption of dye or absorption of an oil finish significantly. Slainte.