Hi to all, and if someone can give me something to start, please be advised that it will be GREATLY APPRECIATED!
I started to make cabinets for 2 bathrooms in my house, on the master and the other one , for my home office. I took the design from a magazine-book that portrais the best designs . Everything ok, until the boss comes and tells me ” mmmm I really would like cherry instead of maple.
Well, I said, I will use the maple cases inside, and edge them with cherry and make panel doors with cherry ply. These designs call for a top hutch that you can see the sides and have not built yet. Guess what… PRICE. PRICE!!?? cherry ply is so expensive!!! Plus I have two sides to cover also with cherry.
Here is the 6 mill question: Any way I can stain the maple ply and solid wood to cherry? Any product?
Thanks
(soon to be divorced if the cherry idea remains in this house..)
Please help… thanks
Replies
Yes, Maple certainly can be stained to approximate the look of Cherry. The only real difficulty would be that Maple is dense enough that it doesn't take a lot of color easily... thereby posing a slight difficulty in getting it to take enough color to look like Cherry. And by Cherry I presume you mean the classic reddish stained Cherry look rather than natural Cherry.
I would suggest using a gel stain. And always, always, always work out your color approach on scrap wood first!
If you find a gel stain that you like but the Maple isn't taking it quite dark enough, try wiping the unstained wood down with a damp/wet cloth and let it dry overnight and then see if it won't take more color from the stain. I wouldn't finish sand finer than 220 grit. 180 might be better for opening up the wood so that it takes color better. But, be careful to avoid cross-grain scratches as the stain will highlight them.
Remember, work out your color approach on scrap! That can be thrown away if you don't like the result.
"Rather fail with honor than succeed by fraud" - Sophocles.
Edited 8/1/2005 11:45 pm ET by Kevin
Manny,
Both maple and cherry are species that tend to be blotchy when stained.
If you're going to stain, I recommend that you first apply a barrier coat of pre-stain conditioner, shellac, or sanding sealer - which ever is appropriate for the product you'll use as your top coat.
In my experience, maple or cherry are easier to color without blotching when using aniline dye; water-soluable is easier for me to use than alcohol-soluable, but that's a personal decision you'll have to make.
I wholeheartedly second the recommendation that you practice on test pieces before attempting to apply any kind of coloration to your finished project.
Good luck,
-Jazzdogg-
"Don't ask yourself what the world needs. Ask yourself what makes you come alive, and go do that, because what the world needs is people who have come alive." Gil Bailie
Thanks for the good suggestions, right now , is not much what I will stain, I bought a stain, that will be apply with a rag, will it be blotchy as well?
Manny,
Test it somewhere that won't show before you apply stain in a visible area - you'll quickly have an answer to your own question.
Good luck,
-Jazzdogg-
"Don't ask yourself what the world needs. Ask yourself what makes you come alive, and go do that, because what the world needs is people who have come alive." Gil Bailie
I put the same stain on a piece of hard maple and a piece of mahogany.. what a difference of course!!! The one on the maple looks like cheap paint,but the one on the mahogany , looks beautiful!! Also, big difference in pricing for maple and cherry, and talking about veneer..?? I went to my local supplier, 1 ply cherry veneer is 40 bucks, 2 ply is 96! now, I just need to cover on a couple of sides, and I am not clear on the 1 ply or 2 ply.... could I use just the one ply and get away with? In which case you use the 2 ply... I guess my mind was set on maple, which I am familiar and not cherry..:(
If you are using veneer or plywood, the results of staing can be differant from the same stain on solid wood. Test on a scrap of the ply if you use ply - may need more coats, may or may not blotch.1 - measure the board twice, 2 - cut it once, 3 - measure the space where it is supposed to go 4 - get a new board and go back to step 1
Gel stain shouldn't blotch much if at all. That's really the point of gel stain. Being a gel it sits on the surface and can't really penetrate far enough into the wood to produce the blotching. If it's not being applied on a blotch-prone wood like Cherry, Maple, Alder, Pine, etc... gel stain is not on my short list of recommended approaches to staining. Primarily because it takes more effort to apply, spread around and then wipe off.
One of my favorite approaches to staining when I want to nail a specific color is to find a wipe stain that gets me close and then generate a dye stain that will supply the rest. Then apply the dye first, seal it lightly, let the sealer dry and apply the wipe stain. Richly colored stains like you'd normally see on Cherry and Mahogany (particularly medium to dark warm colors) are very easy to achieve using this approach in my experience. Layering up a color can produce some spectacular results which simply can't be achieved using a single color step.
My understanding from talking to the pros who sell gel stains is that they are basically a way for the DIYer to achieve finish colors that the pros use expensive equipment and/or multi-step processes to create.
Preemptive Karma
"Rather fail with honor than succeed by fraud" - Sophocles.
Instead of stain, you might want to consider a dye. It helps avoid the splotching that stain can have.
1 - measure the board twice, 2 - cut it once, 3 - measure the space where it is supposed to go 4 - get a new board and go back to step 1
Edited 8/2/2005 4:05 pm ET by Rick503
" Everything ok, until the boss comes and tells me " mmmm I really would like cherry instead of maple."
I'd make em' Maple if ya LOVE her AND WANT TO KEEP HER for awhile...
EDIT:: You could ask her some night in bed.. Just as she falls asleep..... Would Cherry Frames and Maple panels be OK?
EDIT 2: Women say OK ALOT if they need sleep!
Edited 8/3/2005 2:57 pm ET by Will George
Edited 8/3/2005 2:58 pm ET by Will George
manny--
It's been my experience that trying to save $50 by doing something the hard way is not worth it in the long run. I routinely use cabinet grade veneered plywood in a variety of species, and although you may be able to get a low-grade maple for cheap, remember that you get what you pay for. You may be able to stain it to match, but by the time you're done fussing around with all the coloring, it would have been easier to do it in cherry in the 1st place.
Something else to consider: Over time, any actual cherryu that you use, whether veneer or soild, will darken to a great patina--that is not the case with the maple. At the supplier that I use, 3/4" cherry ply goes for about $100/sheet, and the higher quality maple ply goes for about $75. They carry lower grades of maple, but I would never use those for any visible cabinet areas. It might be different if you were diong a project that required 15 sheets, but it sounds like you could get by with 1 or 2.
This is just my opinion, but I speak from experience...
Peter
jpswoodworking.com
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