[Greenbuilding] Cherry wood finish, was: Re: A question regarding sealing in VOCs

[RT]

Don wrote:

> - I am building a set of stairs with cherry treads and am looking for a  
> finish - It does not have to be too durable as there are only two of us  
> in the house.


Do n ;

I'm wondering whether you need to put anything at all on the treads ?

In my own home, I made treads out of 6/4 Hard Maple and just left them  
nekkid.
("Finish" = Planed, burnished with a hand scraper )

Almost three decades later, there are no undesirable effects from having  
done so.

(Black ?) Cherry is not unlike Maple in that it is a tight/closed-grain  
wood so it really doesn't need to be "sealed" like  
open-grained/porous-cell structured woods like Oak  and isn't fragile as  
softwoods like Pine.

About the only reason that you might want to put any gunk on Cherry is to  
darken it to bring out the rich colour (not something one needs to do with  
light-coloured woods like Maple).

Of course, if people are going to be clomping up and down the stairs  
wearing mud/manure-caked, hob-nailed boots, then it might be a different  
story, in which case I'd look at something other than a wood surfacing for  
the treads (ie stone or porcelain would be a better choice IMO). In my  
home, people remove their shoes at the door and the mutts do not go up the  
stairs so the nekkid Maple is fine.

Traditional Japanese wood floors were similarly left "unsealed".  They  
would use the used bathwater to do a damp mopping if/when mopping was  
necessary, the oils from the skin being about the only "oiling" done and  
over successive years of being polished by slippered feet, the flooring  
would acquire a rich patina.

For the Cherry treads, if an "instant" patina is desired, perhaps a  
mixture of some thin-bodied innocuous oil like mineral oil or lemon oil or  
maybe even olive oil  + beeswax or vegetable wax could be rubbed in/wiped  
dry in the manner of a Danish oil finish (ie natural-looking "satin"  
finish rather than a plasticky-looking "glossy" finish.

Maybe you would heat the oil/wax to facilitate application/ deeper  
penetration.

-- 
=== * ===
Rob Tom
Kanata, Ontario, Canada

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