Hi,

I’ve built a Cherry aquarium stand and I’m having some trouble getting the final appearance I’d like.  What I’m after is something that is a shade lighter than the darkness of the popular espresso finishes but with an undertone of aged cherry.  Basically I’d like a hint of the deep red in a primarily dark finish.

I’ve experimented with the accellerated aging of drano/sodium hydroxide, since Drano isn’t pure Na-OH, I’m either going to need to find pure lye/sodium hydroxide or potassium dichromate (photo processor).  In general I really like the result, but the odd piece of wood comes out quite orange and not so nice, also, the cherry plywood used on the sides basically just goes to a dark brown with very, very little red.

Any ideas?  I’ve attached a photo of the cabinet minus the doors to give you some idea.  Please excuse the bad photo.