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Furniture Finishing & Restoration

Finishing Cherry

"Oils & Oil Finishes - Page 1"

This section covers the effects that the various drying oils like tung oil, linseed oil, etc., and oil-based finishes like danish oil, varnish/polyurethane, etc., have on the appearance of cherry. These oils and oil-base finishes darken the color of the wood and react with the wood fibers in a way that the directionality (aka, chatoyance, shimmer) in the wood is really enhanced. The problem though, that I mentioned in the Introduction, is that there is a lot of random density and grain direction in cherry and these finishes will highlight those differences a lot giving the wood a blotchy or mottled appearance.

You can get a pretty good idea of how your cherry will look with an oil-base finish by wetting the bare wood with mineral spirits, naphtha, or lacquer thinner. "Pre- viewing" the wood using one of these solvents can help you decide if you like the look before applying the finish.

Blonde shellac & linseed oil
This sample is divided into two sections; a small area at the top with just a blonde shellac finish and the larger area on the bottom. On the lower section, I wiped a very light coat of linseed oil onto the bare wood. The oil has the effect of accentuating the directionality in the wood quite a bit as well as a darkening effect. Because cherry has a lot of random density and directionality, the oil creates a blotchy or mottled appearance. You can identify this trait in the wood once it's planed; you'll see the random darker spots/areas on the surface. Some boards (like this sample) have clear, mostly straight grain and they are less likely to have a strong blotchy loook.
By using a very light coat of oil, it helps to reduce the blotchy/mottled look. Wetting or saturating the wood with the oil increases the blotchiness as well as taking a long time (up to two weeks) to dry.

Angled lighting shows depth
When light strikes the wood at an angle, the section that was oiled has more directionality than the section that wasn't oiled and it gives the wood an improved dimension of depth. Since this board has straight, even grain without the random dark areas found in so many cherry boards, the effect is nice. By carefully selecting the boards you use, you can use an oil or oil-base finish on cherry and get the added look of depth without too much mottling.
Make sure you wet the wood with one of the solvents listed above to preview the wood. If it looks promising, apply the finish to the back or bottom of the piece first to make sure you like the effect before starting on one of the "show" surfaces. If you apply an oil or oil-base finish to a piece and then decide you don't like it, you'll have to use a paint & varnish remover/stripper to start over.

You have quite a few choices to get the "oiled" look and effect on cherry; you can use tung oil, linseed oil, an oil-base clear stain like Minwax "Natural," danish oils, antique oils, and varnishes including polyurethane. The only differences that's apparent with any of these oil-base products is the drying time and to some degree the coloring. In the section on varnishes, there's some discussion on the oils used to make varnishes. Some of the oils are lighter in color and some resins are more reactive to light or the absence of light. The color of the oil or resins makes a little difference in look you get; darker oils and varnishes make the wood a little darker/redder and do a better job of creating the look of depth (in my opinion). Straight oils can takes as long as two weeks to dry while danish oils and varnishes usually dry in a day or two.

There seems to be a wide division between the folks that like the effect of oil-base products on cherry and those that don't. Many find the blotchy/mottled appearance to be very unappealing while other profess admiration for the look. Since it's a matter of personal preference and taste, my advice is to do some samples with the same wood you plan to use for your project or at least experiment on the back or bottom of the piece if it's pre-assembled. Do a sample with oil and one without to see which is more appealing to you; the larger the samples you do the better; small samples can look deceivingly good! It's easier to do a sample than strip the finish and start over!