Add Age to Cherry

With this recipe it's easy to get the aged look of cherry furniture without waiting years for the wood to darken.

#267–Mar/Apr 2018 Issue

It’s not difficult to get the aged look of cherry furniture without waiting years for the wood to darken. It starts with stain, thinned with mineral spirits, applied directly to the wood.

Sand the cherry to 220 grit, and then apply a thinned coat of Old Masters Wiping Stain in cedar with a rag or foam brush. Wipe it off immediately, removing all the excess, and let it dry overnight.

1. Start with a Thinned Stain

Another way to control the effect of pigmented stain is to thin it.

**Dilute by 50%.** Stir the can well, pour out some of the oil-based cedar stain, and add an equal part of mineral spirits. Apply the thinned stain directly to the wood with a rag, wipe off the excess, and let it dry for 12 hours.

2. Seal and glaze

Use SealCoat to form a smooth barrier, and then apply stain as a glaze over the top

**Shellac before the stain.** Brush on a few coats of SealCoat at full strength, sanding between coats. Let the final coat dry for four hours. Then wipe on a liberal coat of the dark walnut stain, and use a dry brush to remove the excess.

Seal and glaze—Now brush on at least two coats of SealCoat shellac, leveling each coat as you go, as with the earlier finishes. You might need a third or fourth coat to create the smooth sheen you need for applying the glaze. Allow the full shellac layer to cure for three to four hours, then sand it lightly to level the surface.

As with the other finishes, a glaze adds depth, and in this case, tones down the redness of the stain. Use Old Masters Wiping Stain in the dark walnut tone, which has a greenish-brown, raw-umber hue, moving the finish toward a more medium red/brown.

Wipe on the glaze with a rag and remove the excess with a dry brush as before. Allow the glaze to dry for at least 12 hours before topcoating with SealCoat or lacquer as you did for the other finishes.

From Fine Woodworking #267

Comments

dynamwebz | Feb 02, 2018 10:02am | #1
I am not saying this technique would not work, but I have tried many different methods to get an aged look on cherry. Some work ok, some do not. This technique, and it may be my screen resolution, has an orange look to it. I find the best product is Tried & True cherry wood stain. Takes many days to fully dry but the end product is worth the wait. No VOC's. It's like a thick, gooey molasses consistency.
lbaker112 | Feb 02, 2018 02:04pm | #2
What will this finish look like when the cherry itself turns dark in time? I like the idea of making the cherry look aged now, but at what price later?
user-7459191 | Sep 05, 2019 05:14pm | #3
I find sealcoat or shellac works well but it wont hold up for a desktop/any top for that matter. If do I put a coat of poly for the finish coat it will peel off with shellac as an undercoat. I would definitely go with lacquer for the finish coat.