Replies

1. 
   zgmc | Jun 05, 2010 01:50pm | #1

   Is this project for your own home, or for a customer? If you are doing this for a customer, I would refer them to a professional finisher who has the equipment and know how to do the job right. If it is for yourself, why not use pure tung oil? If applied properly it will look great.

2. 
   swannyww | Jun 05, 2010 05:23pm | #2

   finish

   i would spray it and I would recommend a fast dry low odor product as it's a vertical surface, and a large area that could "smell" up the area for a long time.  Test out sprayer on vertical scrap in your shop.

3. 
   finekiwi | Jun 06, 2010 02:43pm | #3

   finishing cherry

   Cherry can be a begger to finish. One person has suggested tung oil and I would suggest Waterlox. It is wiped on by hand and you can get it in different shines, My reason for using this coat first and then some lacquer or harder finish is that not only does the  Waterlox help bring some aged colour into the finish; if you have any glue or scratches you have missed in your final sanding these will show up and you can repair them easily.Then recoat with waterlox and shouldn't get a colour differation which you may get it you had to repair after the first coat of a hard finish.

   Spraying in a  room means masking off all areas you don't want sprayed and you may not want to do this because of time but it may be worth it. It is your call. Now if you are spraying, where is the overspray going to go? Have a large fan blowing it outside and cover objects outside which you don't want covered in lacquer.

   I have used an HVLP gun which great success.  

4. 
   finekiwi | Jun 06, 2010 03:33pm | #4

   Cherry finish

   I should have said more about finishing. If you have not used Waterlox before. Once you have brushed or wiped it on and wiped if off, you need to wait a good 24 hours before the next coat. When appying this finish have plenty of ventilation and a mask. It does give off an odor.  You will need to now give the surface a light sand with either 0000 steel wool or a very fine finishing sand paper about 320-400 grit. I spray on a Dull lacquer finish for the walls because anything with a gloss will show any defects. I use M L Campbell Magna lac which is a precat finish with low VOC's and you will find you wont have to sand between the coats. Two coats should be sufficent. 

1. 
   SteveSchoene | Jun 06, 2010 09:13pm | #5

   Lacquer over varnish isn't a good idea.  If you spray a bit wet the solvents in lacquer can damage the varnish.  In fact, it is generally not a good idea to apply a harder finish over a softer one. 

   Waterlox is not best applied by applying and wiping off.  It is not a mix of oil and varnish, it is varnish.  Satin Waterlox can be brushed, or with a bit of thinning wiped on in thin coats.  (Damp but NOT real wet.)  You do not need to wipe it off as you would an oil or an oil/varnish mix.  You can let it build to your desired thickness.  With Satin you need to take care to apply evenly, and to keep the material well stirred to avoid streaks of differing glosses. 

   If you are wiping thinned varnish, you do not need to wait overnight between every coat.  You can apply "sets" of coats, applying a second, and a third about 2-3 hours apart, essentially as soon as the preceeding coat is no longer tacky.  But after no more than three coats you must then wait a full over night period and then sand with 320 grit before applying the next set of coats.  Since it takes about three wiped on coats to build equivalent thickness of a full brushed on coat, you are letting about the same thickness cure overnight.  (This method is of particular advantage if you plan to rub out the finish.  The "set" of less than full cured layers do crosslink together enough so that "witness" marks when you rub through a cured finish boundary is avoided.  This gives you more leeway in the rub out process.)

   Finally, a gratuitous comment about using pure tung oil.  My recommendation is not to use it.  Tung oil dries very slowly so it takes 2-3 days, and light sanding between each coat, and typically requires 4-5 coats to just get an even satin sheen.  The finish achieved this way with pure tung oil offers very little protection--just a light bit more moisture resistance to the zero resistance of boiled linseed oil.  If you want an oil finish with no surface film. the use an oil/varnish mixed applied and wiped off thorougly the same way as an oil finish wither BLO or pure Tung Oil.  . 

5. 
   slorentz | Jun 09, 2010 09:23pm | #6

   The cherry project is my own

   I appreciate the suggestions. I've steered away from larger cherry projects in the past, but decided to do my own first. I'll make sure to try out the different suggestions on various test pieces.. It's a significant investment which I'm not getting paid for so I wanted to get some expert advice. Thanks.

6. 
   bduffin104 | Jun 11, 2010 07:52pm | #7

   What is different about cherry?

   What is different about finishing cherry wood VS other woods?

   I just don't know.

   Bret

1. 
   bones | Jun 11, 2010 09:39pm | #8

   While not a pro, I've finished cherry and the fear (some have) is blotching.  All cherry has some figure.   The finish can soke and give a darker apearance than the fibers around it.   Also if sap wood is involved that can be an issue.  Some don't mind the character of cherry but a lot want that completely even tone.   I prefer waterlox myself.   I use their sealer and have had good luck.   For a good sorce for cherry finishing I'd reccomend a DVD set that just came out from Charlse Neil on finishing.  He has a whole dvd on Cherry. 

1. 
   bduffin104 | Jun 11, 2010 10:25pm | #9

   So, it's the staining or coloring of cherry that's is tricky. That's not unlike maple, alder, birch, fir, pine, hemlock and many other woods.

   A stain controller such as Benite is helpful or using a colored lacquer or spray stain..

   I've stained a lot of woodwork for clients over the years but I personally prefer most woods with a natural finish.

   Bret