Finish for a colonial English style cherry fowler?

[DrTimboone]

What have you found to be the best traditional finish for a cherry stocked colonial period English style fowler? Sealing? Staining? finish? got any pictures you can show?

I am about to get started on it. This is the first time with Cherry..... :nono: :redface: It will have brass furniture.

Thanks

 

Jack Brooks of Englewood, Colorado told me of an old recipe for cherry was to use a lye and water solution painted on the stock and let it dry. Do not neutralize. Then finish with a good sealer and finish like LMF. He said that's how they got the rich red brown on Colonial Cherry wood furniture. He said it works great on Cherry rifle stocks too. You may want to try some different mixes on scrap to get the color depth you are shooting for. Drano is what he told me he uses for the lye source.
Don

 

[Roy]

I have seen one gun that was done using the lye, it looked good and aged, nice dark and even color. Dad built one a few years ago just put an oil finish on it and its darkening up nicely. At first it did look sort of pink, but some days out in the sun changed it.

 

[robinghewitt]

If it's "English style" could you stain it to look like walnut? :grin:

 

[Mike Brooks]

Here's cherry with aqua fortis.

 

[poloman]

Cherry will darken naturally with exposure to the sun. Plenty of rubbing with tung oil will give you a spectacular finish.

 

[Swampman]

I'd probably use Fiebing's Medium Brown Leather Dye or Aqua Fortis if you can find some.

 

[DrTimboone]

Robin, I see it sort of like the language.... we both speak English....but we in America improved on it :rotf: :rotf: :hatsoff: So we take a nice English style fowler, use more colorful wood and a few other improvements and it suits us just fine!! rebellious colonists you know :v

 

[Ed Blake]

If you go with the lye solution start with a 1:5 mix and use multiple coats depending on how dark you want it. I have used two applications for a nice medium red color. Mike Brooks' suggestion for aqua fortis is also very attractive. I have used a vinegar mix, but not aqua fortis; you get the same result. The wood will turn black, then oil the wood and rub back with 0000 steel wool to bring out highlights. it's easy to do and the results are a knockout. That's why I like cherry.