Years ago I built a storage wall unit for everyday useage. It is in our bedroom and is our dresser/closet. It is almost all hardwood Pennsylvania cherry, with high verticals of cherry ply.
I have had no finish on it for five years and it has deepened in color beautifully. It is floor to ceiling, with somewhat complicated doors and drawers.
I have never finished it because I did not want a finish to stop the oxidation of the cherry. That is now done.
Please suggest ways to finish this really nice wall unit. Both outside doors and drawers and inside where it is used to hold shirts, sweaters, a specially designed shoe cupboard and a shirt closet. All doors are traditional rails and styles.
I was thinking of shellac and wax, but am ready for serious advice.
Thanks.
HACohen
Replies
HAcohen,
Your cherry unit sounds attractive and very useful. As I was reading your question (and before I finished) I was thinking how beautiful shellac and wax would be for this. Then I read your last sentence.
Besides adding a glow of it's own,shellac has many attributes. It is quick drying, therefore has no oily smell when finishing it in place. You can intermix various shellacs such as garnet, orange or ruby with blonde to enhance the look. It also rubs out extremely well.
For application consider padding the shellac on. I'm not talking French Polishing here just padding the material on. You can make pads of various sizes also. I would make a fairly large one to do the main body and doors. For smaller areas just make a smaller pad or use a soft brush. Taklon brushes are great for the corners of panels where your pad might miss.
A pad has an inner core that can be made up with; and old wool sock, cotton wadding or high grade cheese cloth. The outer cover should be very fine to allow the material to flow through it. A cotton tee shirt is an example of what not to use for the cover, it's way too thick. Before starting, "charge" the core with some denatured alcohol then add the shellac. A squeeze bottle is a great way to add more shellac to the pad as needed. Make sure the pad is wet enough but not dripping wet. Practice on a flat piece to get the hang of it. It really isn't hard to do this.
The shellac coat doesn't need to be overly thick either. It's not a table top that will get lots of wear. Once you've got a few layers on you can lightly sand it as needed.
It can be further rubbed with a rubbing compound for a gloss or with a grey scotch pad or 0000 steel wool ( find Liberon wool for this) and waxed. You can apply the wax with the steel wool for a very satiny look.
I would wax the doors and faces but skip the places where you store your sweaters and shirts. The great debate here is whether you should finish an interior drawer or not. I would coat them once or twice and be done with it. Use a brush for the drawer interiors. It will be easier than a pad. Give them a light sanding after curing and you're done.
A semi paste wax is easy to apply with a cloth. If you use a paste wax, scoop some into a piece of cheese cloth that is a double thickness, fold it over and use that as your applicator.
I did the finish described on a tiger maple bed a friend made for me last year.It has a great look and glow.
Good luck. Let us know what you do and maybe post a picture when you're done.
Peter Gedrys
This forum post is now archived. Commenting has been disabled