To the esteemed wisdom of the “finishing group”!
Anyone care to offer a simple formula for finishing poplar to have the look of cherry? I’m thinking of a cherry dye, followed by something like General Arm-R-Seal. Thoughts or other suggestions?
Thanks!
T.Z.
Replies
I did a wine rack. First was a dark cherry analine dye. After that was done, I put on a top coat of Watco dark walnut oil. Results was good enough for my purposes (though I wouldn't put it next to real cherry).
Bob
Did you use alcohol or water for mixing the aniline dye? Also, did you do a shellac wash coat or something similar prior to the dye?
I'm totally all over the map on how to do the poplar!
T.Z.
The analine dye was mixed with water, and two light coats applied to give a base rather red color. After that had dried (at least a day), it was lightly sanded and the Watco rubbed on top. There was no shellac used at any point, just the dye and the Watco.
Bob
I'd think about a bit lighter cherry rather than that really really dark cherry so often seen on modern commericial ware than is only really seen on a natural cherry finish as the product of a hundred or more years of UV and a similar time for darkening of linseed oil.
It really helps here if the poplar is't too wildly varied in its color.
Here's how I'd about experimenting to find a look I liked that would still be fairly simple of achieve and not require spray equipment. I would start with a rather amber dye, not too dark--look at fresh cherry and see that amber tone background. (Perhaps a bit more orange if the poplar is particularly green.) Then seal with a shellac wash coat to control blotching. After that I would use an appropriate colored gel stain, regardless on name. Try this over your dye sample sealed both with a light wash coat (1 lb. cut), or a bit heavier sealer (2 lb. cut) to see which you prefer before working on the actual project.
Tony,
Steve put up some good info for you. I have an article in this months FHB on turning a leftover pine door into something with a little life. It pretty much mirrors his recipe.
I know poplar can run the gamut with various colors but you'll be surprised just how much a water soluble dye will visually unify a surface. A couple of dyes that will work very well on a piece with a fair amount of green in it will be something like Golden Amber Maple or Antique Cherry, both by W.D. Lockwood. These are warm colors; the golden amber is an orangeyellow and the cherry is more of an orangered brown.
A color with a red component will offset or kill the green as it is the complimentary color of green.
If you've never used them(dyes) you will be in for a pleasant surprise. There is a short learning curve but it's time very well spent.
You can easily use a dye and then your choice of finish directly over it. You could also seal the dye and then use a gel to further augment the color. Or as another poster stated, just use an oil finish. It just depends on the look you are after. The only time you really have to worry about sealing a water dye is if you plan on using a water borne finish. Then a wash coat of shellac does the trick.
Purists will argue that it can't be done because the grain patterns are so different. This is partially true. If you get the color right, the eye tells the brain that it is looking at something else.
We restored the kitchen in our 1920's home with cherry cabinets. Directly adjacent to the kitchen is a door to the basement. It was a painted poplar door that I refinished to match the cabinets. I've had a number of woodworkers look at it and when I asked them what type of wood it was the answer was invariably "cherry" The only person who really looked at it is the editor I'm working with at FHB. He sensed I was throwing him a curve and figured it out. That turned out to be a Master Carpenter article in the next issue. I'll give you a heads up when it comes out. Hopefully you'll find it helpful.
Have fun with it.
Peter Gedrys
http://www.petergedrys.com
Yes, your post has helped!
My plan is similar to what Steve posted: a "lighter" cherry aniline dye, topped with garnet shellac. Depending upon the look at that time, I will either go straight to General Arm-R-Seal, or add more color with a gel stain and then the General finish.
Thanks to all who answered my post!
T.Z.
Tony,
Keep one thing in mind about garnet shellac; the name is a bit of a misnomer as garnet tends to be a greenish brown not a red brown.
I've got plenty of extra stock to do some test finishes!
Thanks,
T.Z.
I really don't know why poplar is the poor relation of hard woods. Its very easy to work, no softer than pine, no pine-like knots. As long as it is going to get some kind of stain or dye or paint, i like it a lot. I discovered this when i built my wife a shaker tall clock which i expected to paint, hence poplar. Afterwards she wanted it stained. with a moderate amount of fooling around it ended up, as Peter noted, looking just like cherry Since its much cheaper than cherry, and more redily available, its hard to understand why its used primarily as a seconday wood. Additional benefit, it doesn't blotch like cherry and seems to be quite stable
"I really don't know why poplar is the poor relation of hard woods"
Jasesq, Same here. The case and the door panel are poplar the rest is schedua all natural with Maloof finish.
Tom.
schedua Well that is sure a spanky work 'o wood. Poplar around here is less colored .I should root through some old pics. I did a table top with NGR Cherry red, which still raised the grain but I kept on applying and sanding till I won, they 2 quick coats of wipe on poly and it looks real pretty.I posted a pic a while back about a Poplar Bench.
Very nice work. As with Shoemaker1 our poplar is much plainer here (Northern NJ) Wish it was more like yours. But i think you have proved the point. No reason not to use it
Great post! Well thought out..
I use poplar for many things.. It is a bit soft but a wonderful wood to work with! If my 'sticks' are not all clear white wood I use it without any stain.. Just some finish such as Minwax oil. I have a wall shelf (floor to ceiling) made of approximately 3 inch thick Poplar with one of the uprights with a long and about 3/4 inch wide brown strip on about one half of the length of one shelf support. The brown strip runs on a angle.. .. I left it as it was. With the oil finish the brown wood looks like a walnut inlay...
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