Finishing Cherry Veneer

Question:

I am new to wood finishing and would like some suggestions on finishing cherry veneer.

I am not sure if I will spray, rub on it or use a brush. I would like to know if I have to apply a sealer prior to applying the stain or after applying the stain (or both before and after) then finally apply the lacquer.

If somebody can send me suggestions with detailed info for preparing, sanding, and finishing where I can find most of the answers, that would be great. Thanks in advance. :D

Answer:

Finishing cherry can be tricky but with a few precautionary steps you can get a professional result.

First of all, cherry will sometimes get very blotchy when stain is applied. There are a couple of remedies that will reduce (but not totally eliminate) the blotchy appearance:

You can apply a washcoat of shellac which is a thinned out version of a standard 2 or 3 pound cut shellac.

The other option is to use a commercially available product called wood conditioner or stain controller. These products act very much the same as a shellac washcoat in that they somewhat inhibit the stain from penetrating too deep into certain areas of the wood fibers.

After acheiving an even stain application, you can apply any type of clear finish you desire. This could be brush on, wipe on or even spray on application.

I know this is a very brief overview. You could write books on the subject of finishing. Come to think of it, people have written books on it. Some of the best finishing books are written by Bob Flexnor. You may want to invest in a quality finishing book. I hope I’ve given you some hope. You’ll do fine.

Oakwood Veneer Tech Support