finish for cherry cabinets

[oakey]

as title says I am ready to finish some cherry kitchen cabinets plan on using general endurovar on for the finish
they are made from solid cherry and two different sheets of cherry ply the solid wood is all from one tree but the ply is slightly different colors what tricks do you use to get the color more even some of the ply is quite a bit darker
Dye's ?
I usually spray my finishes out side but it is very cold right now and I believe I will just use a brush / foam
or maybe a small roller
so whatever I use has to be compatible to wiping / rolling or brushing it on

[JR1]

I'd use a tone coat of shellac with TransTint as it is very easy to get the right color. I've sprayed shellac down to 0°F without problems. Do not use a foam brush and watch out for foam pads, they tend to come apart and make a terrible mess. A cloth pad etc. will work just fine if you don't feel like spraying. Brushing shellac with a really good brush is at best difficult and my least favorite way of applying it.

[Bope]

I have done several cherry pieces and the best one I like is Watco Friutwood danish oil topped with Waterlox. It was made with ply and hardwood and you can't tell the difference. The Watco evens some of the color without masking the grain.

[jteneyck]

Have you tried gently sanding the darker plywood? I've been able to lighten the color of cherry plywood that has light aged by sanding it with 320 grit on my ROS, without cutting thru the veneer. Even if you do sand it, and I understand if you don't even want to try it, the colors might not match, so your idea of using dye to adjust the colors is a good one.

The best way to apply dye to blotch prone woods like cherry is to spray it. I've used Transtint in both water and DNA and both work well. Water's cheaper so I typically use that on new wood like yours. The advantage of spraying is you can spray more coats on the light areas, fewer on the darker, to even out the overall color. To prevent blotching I spray only enough to wet the wood, never enough to create a puddle that could run to the thirsty areas. If I need to make it darker, I either use a stronger dye concentration or spray multiple coats, allowing the previous coat to dry before spraying the next. I've never found problems with the grain raising very much with cherry but it can on other woods like oak.

I would spray Transtint in water to get the color you want, then spray EnduroVar directly on top of that. If you don't want to spray then you will have to take a different approach because Transtint and EnduroVar are both water based so brushing on the EnduroVar will lift some of the dye and make a muddy mess.

Alternatives could be to spray the Transtint dye, let it dry, and then spray a light coat of SealCoat shellac. After that you can apply the EnduroVar with a brush, etc. w/o worrying about the dye coming up. Another option is to follow the Transtint dye with an oil based stain or glaze. That will deepen the color and add depth to the final finish. And it will seal in the dye. You have to let that dry at least 4 days before applying EnduroVar over it, however. Or you could do as JR1 suggested and spray a shellac toner of Transtint in Sealcoat shellac, and then brush on the EnduroVar. Any of them will work.

Personally, I would figure out how to spray the EnduroVar. You could make a temporary spray booth indoors, or do it in your garage to which you add a heater to get the temp. up to at least 65F. Spraying just goes so much faster and looks better than anything you can apply with a brush.

John

[Kansas City Fireslayer]

I had the problem of my walnut plywood being considerably lighter then the heartwood on a bookcase I made last year. John, is spot on with spraying dye to even both out. I was worried about making my heartwood too dark while I "caught up" the plywood. This wasn't the case. I found the plywood took on much more color then the heartwood, which worked out very well for me.

I chose to use lacquer thinner instead of water with the dye. You could use DNA or even isopropyl alcohol according to Jeff Jewitt's book. The LT is more expensive but I wasn't about to mess around with possibly raising grain on three good sized bookcases. The LT also flashed off nice and quick so I could speed up the process and not have to wait with adding more coats.

I'd also recommend keeping your tint on the light side and build up your coats. Cross hatch multiple coats for better coverage. It's easier then you think to get it too dark so practice and make sure you write down your formulas. It's easier than you'd think to forget them.

I can't recommend much along the lines of a top coat as I primarily use pre cat lacquer. JohnT, however, has a lot of experience with many different types of finishes.

[oakey]

thanks to each and every one of you john I have tried to slightly sand the ply it does not seem to lighten it and im afraid of sanding through he veneers
I have lots of scrap pieces to practice on and I have some dyes already
I agree whole heartedly spraying is the best I spray a lot just not very feasible in the cold I just can not bring myself to spray in my shop
I always use an attached unheated area to spray may be it will warm up enough in the next few days
ill experiment on some scrap
thanks Sam Oakley

[jteneyck]

Oakey, no matter how you use it DON'T apply EnduroVar below 65F.

I spray in my shop all the time. Take a look at my post on the Makeup Vanity from a couple of days ago for how I do it. It's a pretty simple setup and allows me to spray year round.

John