Hi All–
I have a slab of cherry I finished with three coats of danish oil followed by 3 coats of wipe on poly.
Some neices/nephews managed to scratch it up, so I went over it with 400 grit sandpaper on an orbital sander, intending to then wipe on a few more coats of poly. The sanding worked fine but I got a bit overzealous with one stubborn scratch and it appeared to have gone through the poly completely (see the attached photo–it’s the small lighter spot near the top).
Assuming this, I tried rubbing in Danish oil onto the spot but nothing’s happening (even when I try applying with 320 grit sandpaper).
Any recommendations? I’m left thinking there’s still poly in the way, but I’m not sure how the color would have been affected if so. I’d love to avoid sanding the whole top down to the oil finish, if possible.
Thanks,
Matt
Replies
That is a beautiful piece of Cherry. As you may know Cherry will darken naturally over time as it is exposed to UV light. I think where you have sanded a lot it has exposed new wood that has not been exposed to UV light and therefore for now appears lighter than the rest of the piece. I think I would put the poly on and wait to see what happens over some time. It may darken up enough to blend in with the rest of the top. If not, than you can decide if you want to refinish the entire top. Give it a few months.
Thanks so much for the advice. I'll give it a try!
What hotdogman said. Add your poly and wait. If you want to accelerate things, cover the piece, except for a hole over the light spot, and put it in the sun for a few days. The sun will darken that spot only. It won't be perfect, but it will speed things along.
Noted, thank you!
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