The infamous cherry splotching problem finally caught me. I applied a thin coat of Tried & True varnish (polymerized linseed oil) to a bed I’m making which caused the cherry to splotch.
My intent was to apply one thin coat of oil, then top with 1-2 coats garnet shellac, then a wiping varnish. My obvious question now is – what are the best alternatives to remove the splotching?
1. I’ve only applied 1 coat of oil. If I wait a while, say even 1-2 years, will the oil dry out enough (and combined with the natural darkening of the cherry) to diminish or remove the splotching?
2. Should I apply the garnet shellac now? Will the garnet shellac even out the splotching?
3. Can one reduce the splotching by rubbing mineral spirits or turpentine on the affected areas to remove some of the oil?
There’s a lot of literature describing how to avoid cherry splotching (I failed in this regards), but I can’t find much about what to do once you have it. People either seem to sand down the wood, or paint over it. Aren’t there better alternatives?
Anybody have any suggestions? Any recommendations as to the 3 options above?
Thanks so much for your help!
Mark Mortensen
Redmond, WA
Replies
Ouch :-(
No suggestions, just sympathy. I'll send some good luck vibes to you over the Sound from Bainbridge.
forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
Edited 3/7/2003 1:21:27 PM ET by forestgirl
Mark - once the oil is dry, you'll need to use lacquer thinner or paint stripper to dissolve it - mineral spirits or turpentine can be used to thin drying oils, but aren't the solvent once the oil cures.
The oil should be pretty easy to remove. Sanding with a random orbit and 150 grit paper will take it off pretty quick - that's how I've done it in the past. But first, I'd try some lacquer thinner and scotchbrite on a sizable spot and scrub the surface well, then use a rag wetted with lacquer thinner to clean the residue. Let it dry thoroughly and see if it removed the blotching. If so, this may be easier than sanding.
I'm curious to know if aging will eliminate the blotchy look also. I'm doing an experiment on it, but it's only been about 6-8 weeks since I started. So far, the blotchy look has not diminished, though the wood has darkened some (I've been giving it a lot of light).
Applying garnet shellac will not reduce or eliminate the blotching. It will still be there and look the same, just a little darker in color. I did a sample finish and started with linseed oil, then applied a finish with dye in it (a little darker than garnet shellac). The blotching even seems to be more pronounced. You can take a look at the sample at this link - Cherry Samples.
Paul
F'burg, VA
Paul,
Thanks for the feedback. I was just getting some scrap boards ready to do some testing - but you're far ahead of me and just saved me from duplicating your experiments. Thanks for the link you pointed me to - you've got some great photos of many different situations...If I'd only seen them a few days earlier!
I'm going to try to lacquer thinner first as you suggest before breaking out the sandpaper. Since I stupidly oiled the entire bedframe (just ignore those blotches, they'll go away!), I'll have a lot of sanding to do if the thinner doesn't take it out.
Thanks again!
-Mark
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