Staining Cherry Dining Set

[supimeister]

So.... I don’t know if this is blasphemy  [scared] [scared], but I need your collective wisdom on how to proceed.  My wife thinks she wants to stain this cherry wood table with walnut stain.

Background/Context: My wife wanted me to build her a farmhouse table, along the lines of this:

[attachimg=1]

I was planning on building her a table with the top out of walnut and hoping to find a used table with decent legs for cheap since I don’t have a lathe.

Well, we found this table set for $50 (excuse the horrific pics, we had to fit it in my sedan and took it apart before thinking to take pics):

half of the top + chair
[attachimg=2]

side of the top, neat moulding
[attachimg=3]

It has four chairs + dining table - w/ 60”x40” top and 18” leaf.

However, the color of the table is very much cherry.  My wife wants a darker, walnut colored top.  We will paint the bottom white with Annie Sloan chalk paint (she is hooked on it for now...).

Anyways, my questions:

1) How will the cherry wood (it is not veneer, it is real cherry wood) handle the walnut stain?  Is this a big no-no?  And should I stain it by hand or with brush, or anywhere you might point me to finishing tips?

2) Should I sand by hand or with my Bosch sanders (ROS65 + OS50VC)?  If you can tell from the pics, the wood is in a triangular pattern, so I am not sure how well I will sand between the lines and avoid scratches that will show up post-stain.

3) Should I scrap the idea of staining the top and just buy walnut for the top (she doesn’t yet appreciate figuring in wood... I am relatively new to woodworking and still winning her over...).  Then I can just basically spare the legs from this current table and start from scratch...

4) Any other suggestions?

I found a tag on a chair that mention this is a CORT furniture piece and made in Vietnam... so not top notch quality by any means I imagine.

Also FYI: Tools are not an issue. 

Grateful for your wisdom,

John

 

[tjbnwi]

The wood is sealed with a finish. Probably not worth the effort. Cherry can be challenging to stain without dealing with areas. That may not clean up well.

Tom

 

[rnt80]

What Tom said.  That looks like Pandora's box.

 

[sigmatango]

Fresh cherry is challenging enough to stain consistently. With a finish on it already, you're signing up for some interesting experiences. [eek]

 

[Bohdan]

Coming from Asia I doubt that the timber is cherry. The colour is probably not a stain but a coloured clear coat. If you sand it all off you could then apply a walnut coloured clear, it would have the walnut colour but not the grain.

The easiest way to get a walnut table is to make a new top of walnut.

The chairs are the real problem, lots of stripping and hand sanding, maybe just try overspraying them in a walnut coloured clear and see how they look.

 

[sigmatango]

Coming from Asia I doubt that the timber is cherry. The colour is probably not a stain but a coloured clear coat. If you sand it all off you could then apply a walnut coloured clear, it would have the walnut colour but not the grain.

The easiest way to get a walnut table is to make a new top of walnut.

The chairs are the real problem, lots of stripping and hand sanding, maybe just try overspraying them in a walnut coloured clear and see how they look.

A spray stain might work well, but your grain will likely not show through. I spray stained an oak cabinet for a client. The only way to tell it is oak is the heavy grain....

 

[roblg3]

Walnut stain is a color. It can be applied to any wood. Cherry stain is a color not reserved solely for cherry wood. You will get a different color on the same piece of lumber with "cherry" stain from each manufacturers recipe. I agree that is probably a semi/solid body "stain". Coming from Asia a dust mask is necessary because lead is possibly an ingredient as it's commonly added there.
You could simply gel stain or use a different colored solid body stain right over what you already have to darken to desired color. Sanding that detail will be a serious pain in the butt.

 

[supimeister]

Super helpful feedback all. 

I am not worried about the chairs as we will just paint over it with Annie Sloan chalk paint. 

I think I am going to try to see how sanding the detail goes and if it is a total flop, go back to the drawing board.  It would not be a huge deal to rebuild the top out of walnut and repurpose the base and legs from the current table. 

I think I meant to ask whether or not it was “blasphemous” to stain cherry wood with a walnut stain.  And like you all said, it very well may not be cherry wood.  The figure on the wood in the leaf of the table certainly looks like cherry to me after a quick sand, but it doesn’t really matter.

 

[rst]

I'll give you some real blasphemy.  Sand to bare wood 180 grit, doesn't matter if it's cherry, maple or what ever.  Spray surface with water as long as it is not pine- don't wet pine.  Let dry, stain with whatever color your wife decides, check color after staining by wetting surface.  Spray or brush with sanding sealer, hand sand with 220, spray/brush again with poly, laquer... again what ever... hand sand with 320, spray top coat.  Let dry, wet sand with 400, again with 600, apply wax (I've used Johnsons foor wax for 48 years) buff with extra fine conditioning pads...usually white...if hard to find use microwave interior pads...same beast.  I learned this process in 1971 at a custom kitchen factory that's average kitchen cost then was $10,000.  Still works for me, I was touchup/repair/inspector when I parted ways with the company.

 

[Purdog]

I hate to burst your bubble, but it's not a solid wood top. It's veneered. The pattern gives it away even with the picture not being a close up shot.  It sticks out like a sore thumb.  With that being said, if you strip it down by sanding, be careful you don't go through the top veneer layer.  Also, the aprons aren't cherry. Cherry is a closed pore wood, there are visible pores that are "highlighted darker" with the stain.

 

[supimeister]

Here it is redone... Finally! My wife is quite pleased with the results.

I sanded off the stain on the veneer, and then stained it with Minwax’s oil based golden oak stain. Then we painted on black paint mixed with mineral spirits, wiping off the black mix until we reached our desired color. Then we brushed on poly.

We used Annie Sloan chalk paint on the table legs/trim + chairs.  My wife also chose new fabric for the chairs and has a good eye for these things.

I realize this method is probably not too favorable for woodworking purists, but my wife loves the way it turned out.  Spent $50 on the table and chairs, another $50-100 in supplies (Annie Sloan is not cheap paint) and have a great looking dining table set.

 

[RKA]

I like it, I think you did a great job!  And for the money invested...how can you beat that!

 

[leakyroof]

Very cool.  Now I have to Google Anne Sloan paint.... [wink]

 

[supimeister]

Very cool.  Now I have to Google Anne Sloan paint.... [wink]

haha... yes, it is quite the rage right now with the amateur DIY movement.  You can paint it over any pre-existing stain or finish and then slightly distress it for that shabby chic look that is so in right now.

 

[Holmz]

She has a good eye. I would suggest that you keep her.