Help with Waterlox on Cherry

[blazeman45]

Got my kitchen cabinets finished and applied the first and second coat of Waterlox to the face frames. I elected to try the Waterlox based on all my reading. Unfortunatley I got some small areas of blotching which I never had when using poly.

I love the Waterlox due to ease of use and not having to spray it, but I need to try and prevent the blothcing before I finish the doors and drawer fronts. The blotching will be hard to see once the doors are installed since it is only the face frames. However, I will be sick if it happens on the doors.

Any suggestions??

 

[Joe Scharle]

I don't pretend to know much about finishing, so I stick with works for me. On cherry, I apply a wash coat of shellac (non waxed), knock it down with steel wool or a thin pad and then wipe on poly or Waterlox (thinned). I read recently that varnish needs to be thinned because manufacturers ship it thick to pass the VOC requirements.

After recent reading here and elsewhere, I'm going to try gel stain again. I tried Bartleys when first offered in the early 80s with mixed results. Probably my fault.

 

[bobby g]

On some scrap, sanded to the same grit as the real stuff, apply a mixture made up of equal parts of Waterlox and mineral spirits for the first coat. Let it penetrate and wipe off all of the excess. Check and wipe off any that surfaces. It works for me.

bobby g

 

[blazeman45]

On some scrap, sanded to the same grit as the real stuff, apply a mixture made up of equal parts of Waterlox and mineral spirits for the first coat. Let it penetrate and wipe off all of the excess. Check and wipe off any that surfaces. It works for me.

bobby g

This will show if it will blotch or will prevent it?? If it prevents it...you are THE MAN!!:thumbs_up

 

[bobby g]

Steve,

It should minimize blotching a great deal.

bobby g

 

[Jeff]

+1 to the shellac wash coat for blotchiness on cherry and pine. Zinsser Seal Coat is 100% dewaxed (a 2 lb. cut in the can). Dilute it about 1:1 with DNA and liberally slosh it on with a rag. DO NOT overwipe it, just get it on there. Spraying is really quick and effective on large areas because it dries very quickly and you want to cover the entire area rapidly which can be hard to do with a rag. One coat is sufficient to just seal the pores and no need to sand it afterwards or you risk cutting through this very, very thin barrier coat.

+10 to Waterlox Original Sealer/Finish. Wipe it on with a rag and don't wipe it off because it starts to get a bit tacky after about 10-20 minutes which becomes problematic on larger pieces like cabinets (a lot different than BLO or other tung oil type finishes that require wiping, wiping, and more wiping).

As always test it out first on a sufficiently large test piece of scrap and record your finish schedule.

This is Waterlox over shellac sealed cherry.

 

[Dan Bowman]

Charles Neil has a "blotch control" product that's gotten high marks. I haven't tried it yet but will when I have a cherry project to finish.

 

[Jeff]

Charles Neil has a "blotch control" product that's gotten high marks. I haven't tried it yet but will when I have a cherry project to finish.

An informative video about his product, but I don't know that it beats the tried and true shellac wash coat IMHO. It would be interesting to try 2 side-by-side pieces of cherry, pine, etc. cut from the same boards :icon_scra

Blotch Control: CN's Pre-Color Conditioner - YouTube