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Old 31-05-2019, 10:19   #1
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Cockpit Table Out Of Cherry?

I have some beautiful figured cherry I've been anxious to use for the right project. Our recent purchase of a 1986 sailboat presented me with a possible use - the cockpit table is pretty beat up.


It won't see much sunshine because the bimini is up year-round. And I would seal it with a two-part varnish. Right now I'm thinking Interlux Perfection Plus. Practical Sailor gave it some pretty good reviews.


Is there any down side of going with cherry on the cockpit table?
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Old 31-05-2019, 10:25   #2
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Re: Cockpit Table Out Of Cherry?

I think it would be gorgeous myself.
We keep our cockpit table stored when not being used, so you could adopt that method.
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Old 31-05-2019, 10:35   #3
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Re: Cockpit Table Out Of Cherry?

Beauty first, a man after my own heart.

And it would be covered when we weren't' using the boat... I'm thinking of running back to the shop and getting started on it before anyone talks me out of it.
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Old 31-05-2019, 12:04   #4
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Re: Cockpit Table Out Of Cherry?

When I had a much bigger company, I paid for a custom maker to build my office suite furniture, also reception and conference room furniture from solid cherry.

Beautiful stuff!

When negotiating with a potential buyer, Kuwaiti SWF, the deal fell through because I wanted to take a few of the pieces with me. Stupid I know, but that's how nice it was. . .
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Old 31-05-2019, 12:16   #5
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Re: Cockpit Table Out Of Cherry?

Cherry is a very nice wood and have made some nice pieces of furniture with it.
A few characteristics of cherry that may be a slightly poor choice is it is only fair in rot and split resistance, other than that an excellent wood to work. Having it covered out of the rain and sun will help.


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Old 31-05-2019, 12:29   #6
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Re: Cockpit Table Out Of Cherry?

I am a custom cabinet and furniture maker Cherry is very pretty but oxidizes quickly even with finishing. Even with a good deal of shade it will darken fairly quickly, it will also splotch (shadow) if say you left a centerpiece on it for two 3 days in those conditions. It is not recommended for outside furniture, it would however make a beautiful dinette table.
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Old 31-05-2019, 12:45   #7
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Re: Cockpit Table Out Of Cherry?

I think it would be great. I'd paint it with some thinned penetrating epoxy as a 1st finishing step, but I've never been accused of being an aristocrat. I do it to all my exterior wood trim - looks good to me and seems to weather better.
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Old 31-05-2019, 13:56   #8
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Re: Cockpit Table Out Of Cherry?

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Originally Posted by Hardhead View Post
I think it would be great. I'd paint it with some thinned penetrating epoxy as a 1st finishing step, but I've never been accused of being an aristocrat. I do it to all my exterior wood trim - looks good to me and seems to weather better.

I was at first thinking of thinned epoxy but didn't know how clear it would be. I made a live edge coffee table and used Ecopoxy but that can't be used for exterior pieces.
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Old 31-05-2019, 13:59   #9
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Re: Cockpit Table Out Of Cherry?

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I am a custom cabinet and furniture maker Cherry is very pretty but oxidizes quickly even with finishing. Even with a good deal of shade it will darken fairly quickly, it will also splotch (shadow) if say you left a centerpiece on it for two 3 days in those conditions. It is not recommended for outside furniture, it would however make a beautiful dinette table.
I haven't made much from cherry but what you're saying tells me you're right. The cherry I have has been in my shop for a couple of years and I flip it occasionally to minimize the sun darkened effect.

I'm going to be making a run to the hardwood store soon. They have a lot of good woods for exterior uses but in my mind's eye, that figured cherry would really pop.
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Old 31-05-2019, 14:33   #10
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Re: Cockpit Table Out Of Cherry?

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I was at first thinking of thinned epoxy but didn't know how clear it would be. I made a live edge coffee table and used Ecopoxy but that can't be used for exterior pieces.
I use totalboat penetrating epoxy, and thin the first coat about 40-50% with denatured alcohol, and the next 1-2 coats thicker epoxy from there. It's claimed it can be thinned up to 100%, but in my experience, you can have set-up problems if you go that far. After 2, maybe 3 coats, it will be saturated, and the epoxy will rest on top. After that I lightly sand/scuff, and put on a number of coats of amber spar varnish.

In my experience, the straight epoxy by will have a very slight ambering, maybe slightly yellowing effect by itself. The biggest change is the epoxy by itself will have a semi-gloss finish, as compared to mat. I personally think it looks great - but the overall finish, after spar varnishing, can look a little on the "thick" side, but not really a plastic look. To me, it looks like a whole bunch of coats of spar varnish, and personally don't dislike the actual look at all.
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Old 31-05-2019, 14:41   #11
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Re: Cockpit Table Out Of Cherry?

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I use totalboat penetrating epoxy, and thin the first coat about 40-50% with denatured alcohol, and the next 1-2 coats thicker epoxy from there. It's claimed it can be thinned up to 100%, but in my experience, you can have set-up problems if you go that far. After 2, maybe 3 coats, it will be saturated, and the epoxy will rest on top. After that I lightly sand/scuff, and put on a number of coats of amber spar varnish.

In my experience, the straight epoxy by will have a very slight ambering, maybe slightly yellowing effect by itself. The biggest change is the epoxy by itself will have a semi-gloss finish, as compared to mat. I personally think it looks great - but the overall finish, after spar varnishing, can look a little on the "thick" side, but not really a plastic look. To me, it looks like a whole bunch of coats of spar varnish, and personally don't dislike the actual look at all.

When working with figured woods I like to lay a coat of BLO to make the wood pop. That would add some amber to it. I've also used orange dye mixed in with WB finishes. WB are pretty blah alone but the orange dye gives it that varnish amber. But all that has been interior furniture, or guitars. Except with the guitars I go straight to nitro lacquer after the BLO.
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Old 31-05-2019, 14:52   #12
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Re: Cockpit Table Out Of Cherry?

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Originally Posted by Jules_M View Post
When working with figured woods I like to lay a coat of BLO to make the wood pop. That would add some amber to it. I've also used orange dye mixed in with WB finishes. WB are pretty blah alone but the orange dye gives it that varnish amber. But all that has been interior furniture, or guitars. Except with the guitars I go straight to nitro lacquer after the BLO.

You might try a small scrap of the cherry you like, and test a finish or 2 on it. Sound like some nice wood.
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Old 31-05-2019, 15:57   #13
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Re: Cockpit Table Out Of Cherry?

Have you used 100% tung oil on cherry or any other hard wood?
The advantages are many: achieving a natural appearance, ease of application and clean-up, great for sealing the grain, and easy repair of any future damage to the finish. Also, controlling the degree of reflection vs. a matt finish is very easy because it just wipes on and the excess is just wiped off before it builds. The greater the number of applications the greater the gloss. Re-applications as time goes by will reduce the loss of moisture. I rarely finish an interior project with anything else, whether at home or on my boat. But, beware of using proprietary mixes that contain petroleum distillates, because then you might be locked into using that one brand when attempting to repair a scratch.
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Old 31-05-2019, 16:11   #14
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Re: Cockpit Table Out Of Cherry?

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Have you used 100% tung oil on cherry or any other hard wood?

Real (100%) tung oil doesn't have any UV inhibitors in it, so not good for outdoor applications. We've used real tung oil to do our cabin sole and it is great stuff for interior applications. The site where we purchased the 100% tung oil has an outdoor version (Outdoor Defense Oil) where they added zinc oxide to help deter UV breakdown of the oil. We are currently testing it on ipe, cumaru and teak scraps to see how it holds up in the sun/heat.


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Old 31-05-2019, 17:11   #15
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Re: Cockpit Table Out Of Cherry?

sounds like a great idea.


also make a cover for it..the bimini stops the direct sun..but not
the rest..


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