How do you accelerate cherry wood darkening?

Author: Miss Scarlett Mueller DVM  |  Last update: Monday, September 11, 2023

The best way is to expose it to direct sunlight for a few days. This can be faster than you would expect and is a pretty safe system. The sunlight treatment can work even through your finish, but is accelerated by leaving the finish for later. Significant darkening can occur in as little as two hours.

How do you speed up cherry wood darkening?

Yes, direct sublight will "speed" things up. If you expose the wood to 10x more light, it will darken about 10x faster. Strong outdoor light will darken cherry noticeably, even after one day.

How do you age cherry wood quickly?

Even in indirect light, Lance, cherry will darken over time. But if you want to speed things up, place your project in direct sunlight for several days, where it won't be exposed to harsh weather. Be sure to turn your project regularly so it gets even exposure.

How long does it take for cherry wood to darken?

This darkening or ripening process is most apparent within the first six months of light exposure and it may continue for several years before reaching that beautiful, reddish brown hue that cherry wood is known for. You can accelerate the aging process by exposing the wood to as much natural light as possible.

How do you make cherry wood less red?

Mix 6 parts White with 1 part Slate to create a paint-like tone that will mask the red. A gray color naturally covers color well, which is why it is often used as a primer on dark-painted walls as opposed to white primers. Keep in mind the following tips to assist you in successfully staining Brazilian cherry.

Darken CHERRY Wood the RIGHT WAY

What is the best dark stain for cherry wood?

Depending on the type of cherry wood and your desired outcome, you can have darker or lighter shades. Our favorite stains for cherry wood are tung oil, linseed oil, lacquer, beeswax, and varnish. It can change the color of your cherry wood from traditional or natural to antique, reddish to brownish, and gray to black.

Does all cherry wood darken over time?

Yes! Cherry wood naturally darkens over time. At first, natural cherry wood will appear as a light wood with pink tones. Over time and with exposure to the sun, it will naturally darken to a medium, red-toned wood.

Can you change cherry wood color?

Contractors can stain a Brazilian cherry floor to obtain the new color their customer wants by using the color wheel and our wide variety of HyperTone™ Stains.

How do you make cherry cabinets darker?

  1. Step 1: Remove Cabinet Doors & Hardware. ...
  2. Step 2: Patch Any Hardware Holes. ...
  3. Step 3: Give Your Cabinets A Light Sand. ...
  4. Step 4: Apply Your First Coat of Stain. ...
  5. Step 5: Let Dry, Buff, & Recoat. ...
  6. Step 6: Let Second Coat Dry. ...
  7. Step 7: Reassemble Your Kitchen.

How do you make cherry wood look good?

Oil it, spray it, shellac it, or glaze it. This is how to make cherry look great. Cherry is gorgeous wood, but as you've probably discovered, it can be nasty to finish. Cherry boards come in all different colors, its sapwood and heartwood don't match, it can look really blotchy and it darkens as it ages.

Can you sand and stain cherry wood?

Because cherry has a tight grain and is hard, don't skip a grit or you'll leave tiny scratches that show under a finish. Sand the faces through 180 grit. For end grain, sand through 220 grit to burnish the wood if it's going to be stained or finish-coated.

Will sunlight darken cherry wood?

If the wood is in a particularly sunny spot, most of this oxidation will likely occur in the first three months. Natural cherry wood will appear as a light, pink-toned wood at the beginning of the oxidization process and will naturally darken to a medium, red-toned wood with exposure to sunlight.

How do you oxidize wood quickly?

Use tea plus Iron vinegar on pine
  1. Boil water and add 2 black tea bags for each cup of water. Let steep for 5 minutes.
  2. Brush the tea onto the board. Let dry.
  3. Now apply the iron vinegar and let it dry. You're done!

What stain looks good on cherry wood?

Organic treatments such as linseed oil or tung oil are among the best wood solutions for staining cherry. Staining tends to enhance the color of cherry, instead of changing it completely.

How do you modernize cherry wood?

Painting cherry kitchen cabinets with a white or cream color instantly brightens and modernizes a kitchen space. Painted cherry wood has a smooth finish many homeowners love, and it fits well in a variety of kitchen designs.

What causes cherry to darken?

I know that Cherry darkens with age and that it does so via two different processes – exposure to UV and via exposure to air. UV darkening it quite quickly and air exposure darkening it much more slowly.

Does cherry wood turn red over time?

As cherry is exposed to sunlight and air, it changes color, shifting from a light salmon to a deep, rich reddish-brown. This transformation begins in as little as six months.

Is cherry wood outdated?

Many people think that cherry cabinets might be going out of style because they've been around for so long, but the answer to that is that they're here to stay. Designers have even found ways to incorporate them into the modern and contemporary style.

Is cherry wood furniture outdated?

One of the reasons that Cherry furniture doesn't go out of style is because this furniture comes in so many colors and can be paired well with many different modern accent styles. While Cherry is great for achieving an antique, classic look, it can also supply a tasteful modern appeal.

What is the natural color of cherry wood?

To begin with, cherry is light-pinkish-beige and quickly deepens to a salmon-orange hue after a few weeks or months. The wood further deepens in color over a few months to a year, changing into a light-chocolate-red color, before finally settling into a rich dark reddish-brown-maple color after several years.

Can I stain cherry wood gray?

For cherry that will be some tone of very thin blue. If you bleach first to get the wood as light as possible you will introduce some yellow into the color and will need to explore the violet shades. Make the stain very thin and apply slowly until you get gray. Then you can seal and tone to get an exact color match.

How do you get the darkest wood stain?

How can you stain wood darker? To darken the stain, you can sand the surface with coarse grit sandpaper, and apply another coat of stain. Using coarser grit sandpaper will add larger sanding scratches than fine grit, making more room for the pigment to adhere.

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