Natural cherry wood oxidizes when given exposure to UV lights, causing it to gradually darken over time. In most cases, 80% of the oxidization happens in the first year. If the wood is in a particularly sunny spot, most of this oxidation will likely occur in the first three months.
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.
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.
Keep things natural; use a natural oil finish, such as a tung oil, lindseed oil or even one of the new oil and wax combination products such as OSMO Poly-x. Any of these finishes are super easy to apply and easy to repair. I even like plain shellac in some cases.
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.
There are a lot of reason to finish your woodworking project with shellac and wax. They're easy to apply, for starters, and give you great results. Plus, if the finish gets damaged later, you can just apply more shellac (it'll blend right in) and more wax. Plus shellac is non-toxic.
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.
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.
Over time, exposure to sunlight can cause wood to darken, especially if a finish or sealant does not protect it. In addition to causing color changes, sunlight can cause wood to dry out and become brittle over time.
Cherry is a light pink color when freshly milled. However the famous Cherry finish is a deep, dark red. Cherry doesn't actually look like that when left to its own devices. It usually ends up looking more brown than red.
It's not difficult to get the aged look of cherry furniture without waiting years for the wood to darken. It starts with stain, thinned with mineral spirits, applied directly to the wood. Sand the cherry to 220 grit, and then apply a thinned coat of Old Masters Wiping Stain in cedar with a rag or foam brush.
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.
Traditionally, tung oil has been used on oak to maintain its colour, however, if you wish to darken the oak then hard wax oil is preferable. Danish oil is popular, historically, as a finish on oak as it brings out its rich tones, as well as preventing staining to the surface.
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.
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. Put a board out in the sun with something on it to mask one small area. After a day, look at the difference between the exposed and masked areas.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
What is this? While oak can take up to 2 full years to fully season, cherry only takes about 6-12 months depending on how, and where it's stored. This is very beneficial for those who heat with firewood throughout the winter because you can cut cherry in the early spring and it will be dry enough to burn in the winter.
White oak works magnificently with cherry wood, especially when you are wanting to emphasize your cabinets because it creates a nice contrast with the light flooring and darker cabinets.
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.