I am buying some new kitchen cabinets to add to my old ones in the kitchen. The cabinets are oak with cider finish. The problem is the old ones are about 10 years old and have a yellow tint from aging. I want to know if I add the new ones to the kitchen if they will ever catch up with the aging process and match color and about how long does it take? or will the old ones just keep getting darker with the new ones and never catch up? I have heard that your can sent the new ones out in the sun for a couple of hour to speed up the process?

 

Have you tried AMBER colored varnish? Test first........

Dale in Indy

 

I agree that a tinted poly/varnish to duplicate the aging look would be best. I doubt setting the cabinets in the sun for a few hours [or even days] would have much if any effect.

 

I have a similar situation. I've had cherry cabinets built. The boxes are pine cabinet grade that I stained with polyuretahne. The face frames and exposed sides are cherry & cherry skins respectively. It will be several months before I can have the cherry doors/drawers built. What has been built is installed in the kitchen exposed to the sun. Should I stain the cherry face frames & skins now or wait and until the doors/drawers are ready, sanding everything and stain? Should I use a polyuretane on the cherry? Want the cherry wood to match as best I can and age consistently. Thanks for your time!

 

You shouldn't need to use a stain on cherry. Are you wanting to change the color of the natural cherry?

There are 2 things to consider.
If you wait, you can better control/alter the finish to insure uniformity. I'm not sure about cherry but most woods will change color some when exposed with no finish. If you do wait, you'll have to sand and clean up the wood prior to applying any finish.
If you finish now, the wood will be protected from exposure but most importantly from stains. You would be surprised at how much oil from fingers can be absorbed by unfinished wood, not to mention anything else it would be subjected to.

Personally, I'd go ahead and finish what you have now. The drawer fronts and doors will hide the majority of the face frame so any differences won't be all that visible.

Most of the amber aging effects of poly are based on years of exposure, not weeks or months.

 

Typically when cherry is stained a spray on stain is used to even the color of the wood due to the different color in boards. This is a process that the handyman shouldn't attempt.
Cherry will lighten from the ultraviolet rays of the sun whether it is finished or raw. I agree that you should go ahead and finish the wood rather than wait. Agreed, oil from your hands will get on the wood but also grease and moisture from cooking will soil the wood and is difficult if not impossible to remove.
CD