What Kind of Varnish to Refinish a Cherry Wood Table?
- Varnish. Varnish is a mixture of drying oils, resins and solvents. ...
- Lacquer. For the best refinishing job on a cherry table, use lacquer. ...
- Prep. Before you refinish your table with either lacquer or varnish, it needs to be stripped completely of any remaining finish.
- Stain. Occasionally, cherry is stained to bring out natural grain patterns. ...
Full Answer
Can You refinish cherry wood?
If a cherry wood gets worn or scratched, it can lose its inherent beauty, but can be brought back to life by refinishing. Varnish is a mixture of drying oils, resins and solvents.
How do you stain a cherry dining table?
Occasionally, cherry is stained to bring out natural grain patterns. Before you apply either lacquer or varnish, place a drop of it on the table and let it dry. If it dries to a color that you don't like, you'll need to apply stain. Try turning the table over and sanding a bare spot on the bottom.
What varnish to use on a cherry dining table?
Joe Barry replies: I have used Lockwood Cherry dye on a cherry dining table which gives a very dark and aged look to the cherry (no sapwood) followed by Epifanes satin varnish to give a bombproof surface.
Why oil finish a cherry table top?
Oil finishes penetrate the surface, bringing out the maximum depth and beauty as the cherry oxidizes over time, revealing a desirable rich deeper colored patina. More is made about potential blotching of cherry than is warranted. Blotching is only a real issue with poorer grade materials and these should be avoided when using this approach.
How to make new cherry look old?
First, apply a thin coat of shellac (Step 1). Sand it lightly, apply the colored glaze (thinned burnt umber artists’ oil color—more on this later) and wipe it off. That’s it.
How to make cherry wood look good?
Oil it, spray it, shellac it, or glaze it. This is how to make cherry look great. Cherry is gorgeous wood, but as you’ve probably discovered, it can be nasty to finish. Cherry boards come in all different colors, its sapwood and heartwood don’t match, it can look really blotchy and it darkens as it ages.
What is the best finish for cherry wood?
The versatile shellac and glaze process is my favorite finish for cherry. It allows you to add color wherever it’s needed, in a spot, or over the entire piece. It also helps to blend mismatched cherry boards or plywood and solid cherry. It disguises light-colored sapwood and hides mottling and unwanted curly figure. You can use it to make new cherry look older, because each coat of glaze deepens the color.
What is the difference between cherry sapwood and heartwood?
Sapwood and heartwood. The difference between cherry’s white sapwood and rosy-tan heartwood becomes more distinct over time. The heartwood darkens, but the sapwood doesn’t. The best way to deal with sapwood is to cut it off, but it can be finished to blend with the heartwood.
How to get rid of cherry sags?
It leaves cherry looking pale and parched. The secret with aerosol spray is to go easy. Sanding off drips and sags from one heavy coat takes a lot more time than spraying and sanding two light coats. Wear a respirator and maintain adequate ventilation any time you spray an aerosol finish.
Why do cherry trees have oil?
Oil finish gives cherry a rich tone, because of its amber color, but the results are unpredictable. Cherry often absorbs oil unevenly, and parts that absorb a lot of oil look darker. The result is a mottled appearance. You’ll either see this as part of cherry’s appealing character or as unattractive blotches.
What oil to use on cherry wood?
Tung oil and boiled linseed oil soak into the wood, lodging in even the tiniest pores. This makes cherry’s super-absorbent spots and curly figure stand out. The deep-amber color of these oils amplifies the effect. If you like mottled cherry, use a drying oil finish.
How to stain cherry wood?
If it dries to a color that you don't like, you'll need to apply stain. Try turning the table over and sanding a bare spot on the bottom. Test some different stains on the bare spot until you get one that you like. Test the spot with a drop of lacquer as you did before. If you like the results after it dries, then stain the table with the new stain before you put lacquer or varnish on.
What is varnish for table?
Varnish is a mixture of drying oils, resins and solvents. It has a chemical formula that can make it difficult to use well, particularly on highly visible items, such as tabletops. For best results when using varnish on tables, use a semigloss or even a satin finish. Because varnish dries relatively slow, it can be hard to get a glassy finish unless you have experience applying varnish. If you use a brush, you may get telltale brush marks. You can use airless spray equipment, but unless you're an expert, spraying varnish can lead to other problems, such as orange peel or blushing.
Do you need to stain a cherry table?
Tom McLaughlin replies: If your table is made with nicely uniform cherry in color and figure, there is no need to add any stain or color tone adjustment in order to make the elements more harmonious. Ideally, it’s best to simply enhance the natural beauty of cherry by applying an oil based varnish of some type.
Does cherry wood darken with UV?
Cherry is not any different from any other hard wood in terms of what sort of finish to use. All finishes will allow the cherry to darken with UV and all will protect the wood to some degree. Make sure you think about how the table is likely to be used and how practiced you are with the finish you intend to use.
Why is cherry wood blotchy?
What this means is, the grain in the wood absorbs different amount of stain color at different rates and depths. This causes some areas to be darker, some lighter and that causes the blotchy look.
What oil to use for oil finish?
Keep things natural; use a natural oil finish, such as a tung oil, lindseed oil or even one of the new oil and wax combination products such as OSMO Poly-x. Any of these finishes are super easy to apply and easy to repair. I even like plain shellac in some cases. Again, easy to apply, easy to repair.
Can you use pre stain conditioner on cherry?
But, like I mentioned, don't fruit the beer; don’t stain the che rry.
Is finishing cherry furniture a problem?
For many however, finishing cherry is a tricky wicket. See, one of the "problems" with finishing cherry is, too many people are used to store bought furniture and, as I have mentioned before, that furniture is misleading because they use a multi-step process to artificially age cherry. Why?
Can you put cherry in the sun?
By simply placing the cherry in the sun, you can significantly speed up the amount of time it takes to color the cherry. Putting your piece in the sun for a while will give you a nice head start on the aging process. There is another technique, that I've never really used, but tested and it does work.
Is cherry wood good for furniture?
So, in conclusion, cherry wood is an awesome choice for building furniture and is highly desirable. The reason people love it is for that deep rich color. In my opinion, the best way to achieve this amazing color is by just using a little patience and let nature do her thing and naturally darken the wood over time.