First let me congratulate you for taking up woodworking. Soon your home will be filled with your work.
As for finishes, I think I’ve tried them all, but I always go back to polyurethane. These days I use General semi-gloss from Woodcraft. Usually I spray it on with a Prevail can. That poly is thin enough to spray without reducing with mineral spirits. The sprayers available at most hardware stores and are just great. Since you are using cherry, you don’t have to work as much about filling the pores of the wood prior to achieving your final top coat. I would still spray a minimum of three coats. I usually will spray in one plane at a time. So I continually am rotating the piece to get the next side. The General poly can be recoated in 4 hours, but is not going to run after 30 or 40 minutes. So I turn the piece to the next side after that time and spray again. I also will hold up a piece of cardboard or a small piece of 1/4 ply (whatever I have lying around that I can sacrifice) and shield the the side that I sprayed previously to avoid overspray from the new plane of spray. I always use 400 grit sandpaper between coats on each side (after that 4 hour recoat wait time). If I start early in the morning, I can spray all 4 sides two times in one day. Don’t forget to wear a good mask, a smock and a painters hood-or a hazmat suit if you’d prefer with any finish. Good luck….......
-- cathyb, Hawaii, www.cathyswoodworking.com
