I've been trying to find out about cherry darkening - mainly because I
built some nightstands out of cherry and finished them with only
polyurethane (no stain), but they don't seem to be darkening much.
It's been hard to really find out what makes cherry darken to I set up
a test.

The experiment: Take a strip of cherry and cut it into four pieces;
divide each piece into three sections and put nothing, water-based
poly, and oil-based poly on the sections, respectively; also, cover a
small portion of each section with tape. Put one piece in sunlight,
one in darkness, one under incandescent light, and one under
fluorescent light.

So far, after only 3 days the pieces in the sunlight, incandescent
light, and fluorescent light showed noticeable darking (compared to the
taped over areas) on the natural and water-based poly sections, but
showed no noticeable darkening on the oil-based poly section. The
piece kept in the dark showed no darkening on any section yet.

I'm wondering if the oil-based poly is preventing any darkening so far
because of blocking more light or air compared to the water-based
poly. I also wonder if the oil-based poly could still be curing and
"stealing" oxygen for curing that might otherwise pass through to the
wood. I'm really hoping the oil-based sections eventually darken
otherwise I'll be disappointed thinking my nightstands will never get
darker.

Charles Lerner

wrote in message
oups.com...
The experiment: Take a strip of cherry and cut it into four pieces;
divide each piece into three sections and put nothing, water-based
poly, and oil-based poly on the sections, respectively; also, cover a
small portion of each section with tape. Put one piece in sunlight,
one in darkness, one under incandescent light, and one under
fluorescent light.

So far, after only 3 days the pieces in the sunlight, incandescent
light, and fluorescent light showed noticeable darking (compared to the
taped over areas) on the natural and water-based poly sections, but
showed no noticeable darkening on the oil-based poly section. The
piece kept in the dark showed no darkening on any section yet.

I'm wondering if the oil-based poly is preventing any darkening so far
because of blocking more light or air compared to the water-based
poly. I also wonder if the oil-based poly could still be curing and
"stealing" oxygen for curing that might otherwise pass through to the
wood. I'm really hoping the oil-based sections eventually darken
otherwise I'll be disappointed thinking my nightstands will never get
darker.


Look at the can. A lot of them have UV blockers added.

It is, however, only a matter of time before all "age" into red. You've
demonstrated that "dog" years are different than human, but both of us get
gray eventually....

Ammonia Fume it before top coating. Easy way to add 100 years to the
appearance in less than a day.

-Keith


On 2 Jan 2005 12:58:07 -0800, wrote:

I've been trying to find out about cherry darkening - mainly because I
built some nightstands out of cherry and finished them with only
polyurethane (no stain), but they don't seem to be darkening much.
It's been hard to really find out what makes cherry darken to I set up
a test.

The experiment: Take a strip of cherry and cut it into four pieces;
divide each piece into three sections and put nothing, water-based
poly, and oil-based poly on the sections, respectively; also, cover a
small portion of each section with tape. Put one piece in sunlight,
one in darkness, one under incandescent light, and one under
fluorescent light.

So far, after only 3 days the pieces in the sunlight, incandescent
light, and fluorescent light showed noticeable darking (compared to the
taped over areas) on the natural and water-based poly sections, but
showed no noticeable darkening on the oil-based poly section. The
piece kept in the dark showed no darkening on any section yet.

I'm wondering if the oil-based poly is preventing any darkening so far
because of blocking more light or air compared to the water-based
poly. I also wonder if the oil-based poly could still be curing and
"stealing" oxygen for curing that might otherwise pass through to the
wood. I'm really hoping the oil-based sections eventually darken
otherwise I'll be disappointed thinking my nightstands will never get
darker.

Charles Lerner

Be patient and your stands will darken. One thing almost never
mentioned in the "don't stain
cherry flame wars" is that not all cherry is created equal. A
fresh-milled piece that is the color of salmon will never age to the
same depth of color as a fresh-milled piece that is the color of a
steamed lobster. This is why it's desirable to buy cherry by the
flitch.

Keep us updated on your 'speriments...

hex

-30-



wrote:
I've been trying to find out about cherry darkening - mainly because
I
built some nightstands out of cherry and finished them with only
polyurethane (no stain), but they don't seem to be darkening much.
It's been hard to really find out what makes cherry darken to I set
up
a test.

The experiment: Take a strip of cherry and cut it into four pieces;
divide each piece into three sections and put nothing, water-based