Quarter Round Display Shelf #4: Finishing Question

My first project with cherry was stained with “cherry” minwax stain, then coated with homemade wipe on poly. I would definitely not use stain again. I think an light cut of amber shellac would have looked MUCH better.

I think I’d like to try something similar to what you are thinking of, but I’d note that most people recommend that you use a 1/2 # cut of shellac and that it be completely dewaxed. I think I’ve heard that subsequeny finishes may not take if there is still wax. I’m not sure about a subsequent oil finish though since in theory it should be penetrating before curing?

I’m guessing you aren’t putting anythign that could scretch on the shelf. I’m toying with shellac now and it does seem to scratch quite easily. For my current application, I wish I had just skipped it and went with poly but the nice this is I’m seeing just how good shellac could be in the right application. It does really warm up the wood.

I’ll be interested to hear people’s comments as well.

There are many choices when finishing . I guess it depends on how much protection you want versus how it will look, I like cherry as natural as possible and the most I usually put on cherry is shellac even though its protection is not that of a poly but it is much warmer than a poly and looks more like custom furniture should.
It’s all open to each persons opinion.

-- Jim from Heirloom Woodshop Southern Oregon

sIKE, I would reverse the order of the BLO and shellac. Since BLO is a penetrating oil I would put it on first, let it cure and then seal with shellac. The BLO will give a cherry a slightly darker tone as opposed to simply putting shellac on it. This is really a personal choice as to the look you are after. But in either case nature will take its course with the cherry and gradually darken it over time.

After the shellac coat the topcoat decision largely becomes one of personal choice. If the piece is going to come into contact with water then I would strongly suggest putting a topcoat of polyurethane over the shellac as I did in the cherry laundry center I posted recently:

But I doubt that this is the case with this display shelf. You might just want to consider topcoating it with additional layers of shellac. With the oak bookcase that I did recently I put 6 coats of shellac on within a single day.

-- With God's help all things are possible- even woodworking. Woodworking is not just a hobby, it is an (expletive deleted) expensive hobby.

Scott,

Thanks for the tip! I was told that you should use the Shellac as a sealer to help with evening out the blotchyness that cherry is famous for. Is this the case?

-- //FC - Round Rock, TX - "Experience is what you get just after you need it"

I am currently running a big test. I have bought some of Waterlox Original Sealer/Finisher and have on hand De-waxed Shellac, BLO, Tung Oil, and Danish Oil.

I have taken 5 test paces and coated all of them with Shellac. I have taken an additional 4 test pieces and left them without shellac. I then took four of the five test pieces (after they dried of course) and coated them with the above finishes. Then let the LOML pick her favorite two. I am now testing against a couple of bigger piece and doing a test of the 3 faves (Shellac Only, Shellac/Tung Oil, Shellac Waterlox) on some test Sapwood pieces.

All and all it has been a lot of fun.

-- //FC - Round Rock, TX - "Experience is what you get just after you need it"

sIKE, running a test piece with the finishing routine is a good idea and, of course, letting your wife pick the finish is the only way to go.

I only have blotching challenges with cherry (and pine and poplar) when I add stain but I never put stain on cherry. I just either go with BLO, shellac and poly or shellac and poly, depending on the look I am after. Cherry will blotch if it is stained which is usually done in an attempt to either match it to older wood or to give it an aged look. But, since I am a pretty laid back, I would just as soon let Mother Nature do her thing and patiently wait for cherry to age on its own.

However, one technique that does work for aging cherry is to put it in the sun for 2 or 3 weeks (watching the weather, of course). This “suntans” cherry and gives it an aged look without chemical stains and the inherent blotching that comes with the staining process.

-- With God's help all things are possible- even woodworking. Woodworking is not just a hobby, it is an (expletive deleted) expensive hobby.