I oiled a cherry jewelry box with natural Watco oil. I use this oil frequently but do not use cherry very often and it produced rather prominent, bothersome blotches. I have hear how cherry can produce “blotches” when finished. Question is: can I remove, hide or otherwise do something about these blotches to produced a more uniform finish now that it is oiled?
rp
Replies
Now that it is oiled, not much. But you could stain it darker, as th edarker you go the more it will hide.
Otherwise, strip it with paint thinner and hand sand. Then shellac with a 1 lb cut or wipe it with b. linseed oil(which is pretty much Watco natural anyway).
I have used Minwax Stain conditioner on pine and it reduces the blotching and it also works on cherry. Follow the instructions and you should have no problems.
Greg
Sorry you learned the hard way on this one! Before your next cherry project, you might want to take a look at Jeff Jewitt's book "Great Wood Finishes." He has a section on finishing blotch-prone woods, several pictures of cherry, and presents (IIRC) 3 different approaches.
forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
I had the same experience with a cherry library table that was completed as a house warming gift for a family friend. Since I was under a bit of time pressure I kicked some ideas around at my local Woodcraft store. The consensus seemed to be that it would clear up over time--say a year or two, as the cherry naturally darkened. An old guy who was a customer overhearing our discussion, suggested setting the piece out in the sun for a day or two. Having nothing to lose (and not much time) I tried it. Lo and behold, it was like a miracle. Solved the problem. After two days of direct sun I delivered the table to a very appreciative new homeowner.
You might want to give it a try. Costs nothing and involves no labor.
Bob
Does it have any stain or sticker stain in it? Stain in wood will cause dark spots to show especially when it is finished.
Edited 9/7/2006 1:02 pm by gb93433
Thanks all for the suggestions about my blotching cherry jewelry box. Many I will remember for the next time around. The solution that worked best for me was to let UV do the work for a few days to darken the whole box. Worked OK. Thanks Woodmaster1776 (bob) for reminding me of the quick effect of sunlight on wood.
rudy (arpee)
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