Finish type for bed frame?

[Troywoodyard]

I'm hoping to finish up an arts and crafts style bed frame (in cherry though) and am torn between poly and blo. I don't have the ability or desire to spray any kind of varnish. I want to leave he cherry a natural color with no stain to let it darken over time ... I considered general finishes satin poly or tried and tru blo. Any guidance from the pros?

[jteneyck]

I'm hoping to finish up an arts and crafts style bed frame (in cherry though) and am torn between poly and blo.  I don't have the ability or desire to spray any kind of varnish.  I want to leave he cherry a natural color with no stain to let it darken over time ... I considered general finishes satin poly or tried and tru blo.  Any guidance from the pros?

BLO on cherry can end up really blotchy.  The specimen on the left is gloss Arm-R-Seal, the middle is ARS over Sealcoat shellac, and on the right is ARS over BLO.



I would wipe on Arm-R-Seal, Waterlox, etc..  This is satin Arm-R-Seal on a piece I made:



John

[Troywoodyard]

I might look into the satin arm r seal... all I've used before is watco danish, tried and tru, and gf high performance poly. I like the idea of wipe on, and while I don't want to darken the wood it might be in my best interest since I have a little color mismatch on the piece. Also I recently finished a cherry wall shelf with high performance and it kind of looks pale...

Any more positive experiences with cherry and arm r seal out there?

[Steve Friedman]

I might look into the satin arm r seal... all I've used before is watco danish, tried and tru, and gf high performance poly.  I like the idea of wipe on, and while I don't want to darken the wood it might be in my best interest since I have a little color mismatch on the piece.  Also I recently finished a cherry wall shelf with high performance and it kind of looks pale...

Any more positive experiences with cherry and arm r seal out there?

Yup, but only because I listened to John!

I like cherry after i darkens and also prefer the color to be evened out.   The first time I used ARS on cherry, I didn't have time to wait for the cherry to darken on its own, so I used it over GF water-based dye stain.  But, I used Charles Neil's blotch control first.  Charles even advised me to mix Cinnamon and Vintage Cherry.  I played with the ratios until I liked the color.  The blotch control worked like a charm, the color was perfect, and the ARS has become my go-to finish.

The last time I used it, I didn't want to dye the whole thing, so I left the cherry out in the sun for a few days before finishing.  Before applying the ARS, I coated the whole thing with a couple of coats of sealcoat and then applied some GF gel stain (like a glaze) to even out the color in spots.  It worked like a charm. I actually think I like this technique a little better.  I like cherry when it's a little darker.  I'm also starting to appreciate Sealcoat.

I know people have trouble with ARS, but I've been pretty lucky.  Blue shop towels are your friend.

Steve

[Troywoodyard]

Steve... if u leave it natural what does the seal coat do for u?

[Troywoodyard]

Steve... if u leave it natural what does the seal coat do for u?

[Steve Friedman]

Steve... if u leave it natural what does the seal coat do for u?

First, let me say that my experience with finishing pales in comparison to others here.  I'm just reporting my experience.  Much of what I have learned has come from John.

I use Sealcoat sometimes as the final finish on some stuff.  Not very protective, but looks nice and super easy.

Also, I use the amber version, which adds a little bit of color.

I use Sealcoat under ARS when I want to use GF gel stains as a glaze to make the sapwood less noticeable.  John taught me that technique too.  I first used it on walnut and (to my surprise) it worked.  The sapwood didn't disappear, but definitely became less noticeable.  I have since used the glazing technique on cherry and it works just as well.  I'm not sure I understand the science, but my understanding is that the shellac seals the surface, so that the stain doesn't absorb and cause blotching.  Also, the shellac allows you to manipulate the glaze before adding the ARS top coat.

If I didn't want to do anything to the color, I'm not sure there's a compelling reason to use Sealcoat under ARS because ARS doesn't seem to blotch.  But, looking at John's sample boards, to my eyes, the color of the ARS over the shellac looks a bit deeper.  There's something about the light area in the lower left of the plain ARS board that looks weird, but I can't tell what that is.  May just be my monitor, my eyes, or the board itself.

Play with the various combinations and see what looks good to you.  Some people love light colored cherry.  I prefer it darker.  I think a lot of it is just personal preference.

Steve

[jteneyck]

To add to Steve's excellent advise, the three specimens I showed above were prepared from sequential cuts from the same board so they are as equal as possible.  I was very surprised to see blotching in the middle specimen, the one with Sealcoat then ARS.  Steve called the color deeper.  Maybe, but to me it's blotchy, too.  That was a complete surprise.  I always thought Sealcoat minimized the tendency of whatever comes after to blotch, but that apparently is not a universal truth.

Steve, the specimen on the left is very uniform. What you are seeing at the lower left must be related to the photo.

Unless I needed instant aging I would just use ARS or Waterlox.  Waterlox will be darker because the resin is darker.  Both are excellent wiping varnishes and both will darken over time, as will the underlying cherry.    

John

[Troywoodyard]

Thanks a lot guys... that helps. I think I'm gonna just go with straight ars to minimize effort and take some of te paleness away while still letting the cherry age naturally. At least that's my plan today.

[Steve Friedman]

Thanks a lot guys... that helps.  I think I'm gonna just go with straight ars to minimize effort and take some of te paleness away while still letting the cherry age naturally.  At least that's my plan today.

We like pictures.

In a perfect world, I would cut away the sapwood, but sometimes it's impossible.  If it was all heartwood, I would use straight ARS as well.  Unfortunately, cherry sapwood doesn't darken as much as the heartwood, so it becomes even more noticeable over time.

I haven't notice blotching with ARS over shellac, but trust John's experiment much more than my eyes.

Good luck,

Steve