Replies

1. 
   user-7529300 | Jan 01, 2020 07:05pm | #1

   I can't speak for curly cherry. But a few points come to mind.
   I've done a lot with blo and never had to pre condition for that. I precondition for stain, which definitely needs it.
   An alternative to Blo can be Tru-Oil, which leaves behind a little less yellow. The seal coat would be needed after Blo and before anything like poly.

   There is a video on FWW, search for "How to Pop the Curl in Cherry". May give you some additional points.

2. 
   john_c2 | Jan 01, 2020 08:39pm | #2

   There is nothing you can do to reduce blotching in cherry. Being able to do so is a myth.

   Some cherry is blotch free. It's a quality of the wood, not the finishing process. It's inherent to the particular board.

   Some cherry blotches to a degree. The blotching is because of density changes in the wood. Less dense areas blotch more because they absorb more stain or finish than the denser areas. The only way to reduce this effect is adding color over the wood grain, that hides blotching. So, basically, cherry colored paint. Yuck.

   "Wood conditioner" is thinned finish. Put on this thinned finish, let it dry to seal the less dense areas, then stain. The stain sits mostly on the surface, so blotching is minimized. But you've hidden the grain, which is just horrible.

   This is a monumental waste on curly cherry. Curly cherry is just really, really, really blotchy. The blotching is a feature in curly cherry, not a defect. Anything you do to hide it is defeating the purpose.

   UV light and oxygen darken cherry over time. Natural darkening will minimize blotching. Leave an unfinished piece in the bright sun for a week to give the darkening a little kick start. My favorite finish for cherry is a couple of coats of dewaxed shellac, then a few light coats of good water based poly. No stain. Then let time do the rest.

3. 
   LuckyStryke | Jan 01, 2020 09:06pm | #3

   I have some dewaxed ruby shellac. But I'd rather just let it age naturally. So just use like seal coat then minwax polyacrylic?

4. 
   geedubbee | Jan 02, 2020 05:01am | #4

   These are lift-lid boxes for snapshots made 1 year apart in 2011 and 2012 IIRC. BLO with shellac as a top coat. They now look pretty much the same as each other.

   As always I urge test boards (don't experiment on your finished piece). I would use the Seal Coat. Straight out of the can will give one result, a 50/50 mix with DNA flooded on for deep penetration will give another. Polycrylic seems to stay very clear and so is a good top coat if you already like what you see. The cherry will continue to darken with exposure to light.

   I like to flood shellac to emphasize figure in lighter woods. I have also used things like Watco "cherry" to set a color point. The cherry continues to darken even with the colorant. This can give you a richer looking piece, even out coloration differences in the material but, can hide some of the figure through that same "evening out" of the differences as in the second pic.

   P.s. I have difficulty with the rotation settings on pictures not being honored when importing here; sorry about that.

   
5. 
   LuckyStryke | Jan 02, 2020 10:42am | #5

   I have some dewaxed ruby shellac i though about using but not sure. I want to enhance the wood without blotching. Would just a oil poly work just as well as BLO then poly? Or try thinned seal coat then shellac then a polyacrylic?

6. 
   Rob_Sp | Jan 02, 2020 10:46am | #6

   I have worked a lot in the last several years with Cherry, I like to put a very light coat of Waterlox as a first coat, this will enhances the color and grain, particularly on figured woods. Then finish with shellac, I find an orange shellac compliments the natural color of Cherry, the wood will then darken naturally over time.. A two pound cut works well for brushing or padding. I will usually brush on a couple of coats for a quick build and the pad on the rest. Waxy shellac is easier to work with, particularly if brushing, and the flakes last longer , however dewaxed is more durable if you need the protection. Zinsser makes a product called seal coat which is 2lb cut dewaxed, their amber is 3lb cut waxy shellac so should be thinned. You can always buy flakes but if dewaxed make sure they are fresh. The waxy shellac flakes seem to keep forever. In any event always test the mix to make sure it will dry before using.

7. 
   LuckyStryke | Jan 02, 2020 03:00pm | #7

   I think I'm just gonna go with a good top coat. Maybe some thinned shellac then top coat. Only other thing is Danish oil then top coat. I want it to turn deep red.

8. 
   gulfstar | Jan 05, 2020 10:43am | #8

   My go to finish on cherry has been shellac followed by wax, it seems to last forever. I do however rub many coats of shellac before waxing. For a deeper red finish you could use colored flakes and build up the color as you add coats french polish style.

9. 
   user7061997 | Jan 05, 2020 01:44pm | #9

   I made a curly cherry dining table some time ago. I used a cabinet scraper for the final smoothing. Then Mylands Tung oil, many coats. No blotching easy to repair, and water proof. That was 12 years ago. Still is good. But the aforementioned will also work, it just depends on the result you are looking for.