Replies

1. 
   HowardAcheson | Mar 15, 2007 08:43pm | #1

   What do you mean by affecting the color? Is it changing the color or the intensity of the color? If the latter, that is to be expected. Applying a seal coat effectively mostly seals the pores minimizing the absorsion of stain. No way around that.

   Some things you can play with. One is to use a thinner cut of the SealCoat. I use 1/2# cut most of the time. If there is not enough absorbsion, I will lightly sand the surface with 320 paper to somewhat open the pores.

   You will also find that the same technique does not always work the same. The only way to know what will happen, is to test your finish schedule out on scrap from your project. That way there is no tears.

   Most of the time when working with cherry I will first apply a light amber waterbased dye to sort of tie in the colors evening them out. Then I apply a 1/2# cut of shellac followed by a gel stain to get to the color I want. I try to avoid trying to change the color more than a shade or two.

   Howie.........
1. 
   dperfe | Mar 15, 2007 09:10pm | #2

   It's shifting the color from a red to more of an orange.

2. 
   InMyOpinion | Mar 15, 2007 09:17pm | #3

   I prefer Minwax's pre stain conditioner to the sanding sealers I've used.

3. 
   Kevin | Mar 15, 2007 09:32pm | #4

   My experience is that applying reddish stains over sealer does indeed enhance the warm tones regardless of what kind of sealer it is going over. I don't know why it does that but my experience has been absolutely consistent in this regard.

   If you are sealing the grain to avoid blotchiness then I would suggest going with the Behlen's gel stain right on the Cherry itself because gel stains typically mitigate blotching either entirely or to a high degree. Kind of the point of a stain in a gel form is to limit how much it penetrates the wood. Really what you've got with an oil stain on the one hand and a gel stain on the other hand is the two extremes in terms of penetration.  

   You'll want to test it on scrap first, of course. And understand that the final sanding grit on the wood plays a role in how much and to what degree a wiping stain will be absorbed. You can slightly tweak the color simply by sanding to a finer or courser final grit before staining.

   Also, a more extreme solution would be to apply a very dilute blue/green dye to the wood first. The bluer the more it will shift an orange back into the red range. Greener will shift more towards the orange range. But you'll want to keep the color strength to a bare minimum and always, always, always test on scrap first.

   I hope that helps.

   
   

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   Edited 3/15/2007 2:37 pm by Kevin

4. 
   Gretchen | Mar 16, 2007 03:50pm | #5

   When working with cherry why apply a stain at all. The natural wood will be beautiful.

   Gretchen
1. 
   frenchy | Mar 16, 2007 06:08pm | #6

   Gretchen is absolutely right!

         Cherry turns it's own wonderful color that simply cannot be faked.. be patient and allow mother nature to do her thing.   She will and it will be worlds better than any stain or paint or whatever you smear on..