Waterborne Poly on Cherry?

[mbartlett99]

Sooooooo, got a bit of a project on in cherry VMDF - 7 full sheets to be exact, all got to have 2 coats and there's little room to lay all that out.

Having used it before I opted to use a waterborne poly - easy to apply, quick to dry and a tough finish. What I hadn't counted on is that while its super clear which is great on maple its also super clear on cherry. No nice reddy goodness, no glowing warmth.

Now the question - is there anything I can do about it? Use a wipe on oil underneath (the tech dept were not sure)? Or should I just suck it up and use a wipe on oil like I normally do and learn some patience?

 

[custard]

When it comes to Cherry, time cures all ills. In time it'll darken all by itself, even under a poly finish. But if you do go the oil route, and encounter blotching, then after a few months the blotches will disappear as the general patination develops.

Somewhere in the workshop I've got a test finish board comparing sprayed lacquer, Osmo, and some other alternatives. Now, a couple of years later, you'd struggle to tell them apart. I'll dig it out and post a photo tomorrow.

 

[MikeG.]

.........Somewhere in the workshop I've got a test finish board comparing sprayed lacquer, Osmo, and some other alternatives. Now, a couple of years later, you'd struggle to tell them apart..........

This is very much my experience, and it is what puts a lot of these finishing discussions into a useful perspective. The exception to this rule, for me, are solvent-based varnishes at one end of the scale, and two part things like Rustin's Plastic Coating at the other.

 

[custard]

My mistake, it was actually Pear rather than Cherry, but they're both fruitwoods that patinate naturally in double quick time, so the point is still valid. This is what three different finishes look like on the same board after three or four years of ageing.

Blonde Shellac

Spray Lacquer

Osmo PolyX

When first applied the Osmo would have stood out like a sore thumb as being much darker than the other two. But after a few years there's hardly anything in it; there are textural and tactile differences, and of course different finishes have different properties regarding service life, but visually they're getting closer and closer with each passing year.

 

[mbartlett99]

Thanks for that Custard. I've made a bit of a rookie error in doing three cabinets a while back in Morrells Easy Oil, they were darkish to start with and have a gne a lovely deep cherry red. Now I'm dooing the rest and have done three base cabinets in water borne poly and they are very light - will the poly resist the uv especially as they're not in a sunny room?

I went for the poly as its fast - there's 20 cabinets to do - and should be tough. But the more I look at it the Oil finish is more attractive. I guess no one will really see the base cabinets - they'll have pull out drawers. Got to decide before I do the wall cabinets though.

Indecision arrrghhhh!