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How do you fix a blotchy cherry?
Pine, cherry, maple, birch, and alder are the most likely to blotch. If the surface is very blotchy, you’ll have to remove the stain by stripping, sanding, or both, and start over. This time, apply a washcoat of shellac and then the stain.
Is cherry wood blotchy?
Cherry is a beautiful and easy-to-work wood. But it is a problematic wood to finish because it has a tendency to blotch, even with just a finish applied – no stain.
Why did my stain turn out blotchy?
Botching happens when areas of varying wood density absorb liquid stain differently, resulting in an unevenly stained surface that detracts from the natural beauty of the grain. Once those are gone, apply a gel stain or equalize the wood density with a washcoat.
Is Cherry hard to stain?
Some types of wood, like pine, cherry, birch and maple, are notoriously difficult to stain. A board that has a nice, attractive grain pattern can end up with dark, splotchy areas after you apply the stain. But there’s a simple way you can prevent most stain blotches.
Why is my gel stain blotchy?
Gel stains are hard to handle on wood indeed. They dry off pretty fast during application. Hence, they get all blotchy over the wood piece more easily.
What’s the best finish for cherry wood?
For the money, it’s best to go with an all-natural oil finish, typically using either tung oil or boiled linseed oil. While they are more work than any of the other finishes mentioned, as well as taking much longer to dry between coats, these wipe-on oil finishes give the cherry projects a rich color.
What is best finish for cherry wood?
I think shellac and lacquer look the best on cherry. Oil-based polyurethane dries the slowest, but it’s the most durable. You can get a good-looking, durable finish by following an initial sealcoat of shellac with topcoats of polyurethane.
What is a good stain for 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 can you tell if wood is cherry?
Cherry has a simple, fine, closed grain, much like that of maple. You can see the grain pattern pretty well in the Cherry Moon bed above. Fake “cherry” wood often has little or no grain pattern. It’s made by taking a cheaper wood, bleaching it, texturizing it with chemicals, then staining it with a “cherry” stain.
Does gel stain get blotchy?
What causes cherry wood veneer to blot when stained?
Here’s the bottom line on cherry. Most boards (and veneer) blotch when stained, and also when finished without a stain. There’s no way to avoid this, other than finding boards (or veneer) that don’t have the tendency. Over time the blotching is muted as the heartwood darkens naturally to a rust-red color.
What to use on blotchy cherry wood panel?
Gel-stain glaze darkens the right side of this cherry panel without increasing the contrast caused by blotches. If you need a darker glaze to cover up the blotchy areas, use just the tip of a dry, natural-bristle brush to distribute the stain (instead of wiping it off) until it’s an even color. Wipe the brush off frequently as you work.
Why does my cherry tree have a blotchy finish?
Though cherry has a beautiful color and is easy to work, it is difficult to finish nicely because of its tendency to blotch. Blotching is uneven coloring caused especially by stains, but also by just a clear finish, that leaves some areas darker than others.
What’s the best way to get cherry to stop blotching?
You’re not going to like the solution, but here it is. The only ways to get new cherry to look like old, aged, rust-red cherry (shown in the photo) are to let the new cherry reach the darker color on its own, which could take decades, or choose cherry boards that don’t have the tendency to blotch and stain them.