# I'm almost finished my cherry wood project,



## tpyke (Nov 11, 2007)

all that's left is to seal and protect it. Has anyone ever worked with Cherrywood before and if so is there some (lack of better word...I'm just getting started in this stuff...)varnish that could really make the grain stand out without really taking away from the wood's natural color?
One thing I really want is for it to be dirt proof....I heat the house with wood, so the basement sometimes gets dusty when I clean out the fireplace.....the last thing I want is to go and wipe off the dust off of my cabinet and have a big black smudge on my wood!


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## challagan (Feb 7, 2006)

I love a wipe on poly mix that I mix up. I like poly myself but any oil finish will look great in my opinion. Just depends on what gloss level you want. With an amber shellac I think it would look good as well but haven't used it. 

Corey


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## jerrymayfield (Sep 25, 2004)

My favorite finish for cherry is freshly mixed garnet shellac top coated with an alkd 
varnish made with soya oil. Cherry is my(and a lot of others) favorite native wood.

Regards

Jerry


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## jerryc (Nov 27, 2007)

Typke
I'm a shellac nut and use it more than most other finishes. Could be wrong but I feel garnet shellac might be a little dark. I'd go along with Callaghan's advice and stay with orange shellac. Gives a warmth to the wood and does not obscure the grain. Perhaps finish then with a good neutral wax(non silicon) polish. Personally I would not varnish the cabinet. Varnish, depending on the type, could also tend to darken the wood. A shellac and wax finish is much easier to repair than a varnished top coat.

I would not worry about using shellac alone without a sealing coat. I have used it as the only finish in my family room on the kitchen cabinets which are subjected to all the normal kitchen spills and traumas. 
There is also a wood stove in the family room. After five years I have had to refinish one door which is next to the outlet of the dishwasher ( caustic steam). 
You haven't mentioned how you intend to apply the finish. I use what we and the Brits call a rubber. I mention it because using that wipe on method obviates the problem you may encounter with brushing on a varnish, which is the ever present dust.

Jerry

Everyone is entitled to my opinion


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## jerryc (Nov 27, 2007)

For making a rubber check out the thread another shellac question. Here I give the traditional way of making a rubber. It probably has another name in your neighbourhood.

Jerry

Everyone is entitled to my opinion


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## chippypah (Dec 24, 2007)

Shellac has been used in French polishing for a very long time, and most fine furniture has been done this way.
The problem that I have with it is that it was never designed for use in this modern day, houses were not heated with central heating. Also there is the occasion when people will put a glass of wine or coffee cup on it without a coaster and leave a bad mark. I have restored for people side board or coffee tables where they even had put a plant on it, and there was a very bad water stain.
So as a personal choice I use cellulose, this I spray on in multiple coats and cut back and de nib with wire wool. For hard wearing surfaces like the tops, I use a two part cellulose that hardens very well, and even a coffee cut or water will not affect it. You can of course wax on top if you want to, and the finish is first class. In my opinion this is the modern day finish, that is a progression of French polishing to suit modern houses.
Cheers
Pete


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## jerryc (Nov 27, 2007)

Pete

Forgive me but aren't assuming that for tpyke to use cellulose he has access to a spray booth and spray equipment? Surely a basement where there is dust would not be a great place to try to apply such a finish. He also indicated he was new to finishing and spraying does take a bit of practice, which is why I suggested a wipe on finish which is fool proof.

As for shellac no coping with modern living conditions I make the following observations.The family room I referred to where I have used shellac is not only wood fired heated in winter but has to be air conditioned as we have bursts of heat where it is over forty degrees celcius in summer for several days on end. Apart from standing up to caustic steam as I explained in my last statement,I have spilt red wine on it without adverse effects. True it doesn't like hot coffee cups, but we are talking about a cabinet here.

Assuming tpyke hasn't got spray booths etc, I would suggest a wipe on finish. My preference is as I have stated for shellac but equally a case could be made out for the Sam Maloof finish, except as I have stated, varnish can possibly darken the wood.

jerry

Everyone is entitled to my opinion


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## jerrymayfield (Sep 25, 2004)

As I have stated many times I am also very fond of shellac and use many colors,grades,and cuts. Cherry wood is going to darken(age) no matter what.Garnet shellac looks wonderful over cherry. The two things I find to be major problems with a shellac only finish are heat and some of the cleaning products in use today(such as anything containing ammonia). Pratt and Lambert #38 is made with alkd resin and soya oil and darkens very little not as colorfast as shellac but what is.

Regards
Jerry


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## chippypah (Dec 24, 2007)

jerryc said:


> Pete
> 
> Forgive me but aren't assuming that for tpyke to use cellulose he has access to a spray booth and spray equipment? Surely a basement where there is dust would not be a great place to try to apply such a finish. He also indicated he was new to finishing and spraying does take a bit of practice, which is why I suggested a wipe on finish which is fool proof.
> 
> ...



Jerry,
As I mentioned in the reply this was a personal choice and nothing more, it is up to the person what finish they use. But there are several points that you are incorrect on, firstly, you do not need a spray booth that is more for commercial applications. Secondly, you do not have to have spray equipment, as if it is thinned down you can and I do apply it by either brush or rag or even paper towel, and I do use a spray gun for some items but definately not all. Thirdly, no matter what finish you apply, sufficient ventilation is always needed and should be there at all times. Shellac is made up with methylated spirit and unless I am mistaken is also highly flammable.
Wood will, without doubt, darken when exposed to daylight, no matter what finish you apply.
Cheers
Pete


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## jerryc (Nov 27, 2007)

Pete,

Obviously it is up to the personal choice of the finisher. However you take me to task on spraying. 



> I use cellulose, this I spray


You made no mention of hand applied cellulose in your reply so I had to take what you said to be what you meant. Therefore my reply was based on the unsuitability of spraying in a confined space without adequate safeguards. Spraying is something I know about. Volatility is present in most finishes, my comment was still based on spraying a finish, any finish. Spraying as you know introduces a new factor and that is atomisation. The solvent is not just on the surface but has been distributed as fine droplets in the air. And I haven't even mentioned the problem of overspray.
You mention applying a finish with paper towelling. I certainly haven't tried this because I would be unhappy about leaving bits of paper towel on the finish. But what I haven't tried I don't knock.



Jerry

Everyone is entitled to my opinion


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## tpyke (Nov 11, 2007)

Some pretty good ideas here....

Do any of you guys have some pics of the wood after having applied either garnet shellac, orange shellac, amber shellac or cellulose?


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## jerryc (Nov 27, 2007)

Tpyke,


attached are photos as you requested.

The red vanity unit was made in ******** which is a fairly dark wood and was finished in blond shellac into which I mixed a red dye. I used blond shellac shellac because I didn't want the colour to be changed by the shellac base.

The two photos of kitchen cabinet doors may interest you because they show the toughness of shellac. The wood is Jarrah which is a dark red wood and the finish is orange shellac with no stain. The kitchen cabinets have been in place right over the cook top and extractor fan and it took years for the finish to break down. It has since been repaired with no more than a wipe over with a shellac rubber. Another part of the kitchen has a kitchen door right next to the exhaust of the dishwasher. This is constantly subjected to hot caustic steam and has stood up to such treatment very well.

These examples were of shellac mixed for the job. I don't buy ready mixed shellac because once mixed shellac becomes hydroscopic, that is it begins to absorb water and becomes less resistant to moisture. I believe many problems people encounter with shellac stems from using over aged mixed shellac. 

Jerry,
I can't answer for some of the cleaners in use now because my wife doesn't use them. She finds a wash with soap flakes and warm water is all she needs to use. But I take your point


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