NATURAL CHERRY VENEER


I left my new Nautilus 805's sitting in the bottom piece of the foam packing they were shipped in, and placed them on top of their boxes (free stands) while I went out of town for a week. When I came back, I took the speakers out of the foam bottoms and noticed a "tan line" where the speakers had been sitting down in the foam packing pieces. Here's the question, Does anyone know for sure, whether natural cherry continues to darken with time, forever, or if it reaches a certain point and then stops darkening alltogether, or slows dramatically??? My curtains were drawn, and very little light was able to enter the room. I believe that they will even out with time, but the Obsessive-Compulsive in me has decided to cover up the "tan" part and let the non tanned part acquire some sun. So.... Bring on the info!!!! Thanks.
gthirteen

Showing 3 responses by chungjc966b

Bmpnyc, since the darkening process slows down over time, your new center channel speaker should catch up. No guarantee on the final match, however, since we're dealing with a natural material. Different trees, different varieties from different regions, different species -- all can produce differences in grain and color. Chances are the match will be very close. If not, you just enjoy it with pride as a "feature", not a flaw! It's an interesting contrast to the precision and consistency we want from our sound systems.
Yeh, bmp, imperfections -- quirks -- give the wood character. Just like quirks can give character to music-- but not music reproduction systems. -------- Mezmo, for a light scratch, the crayon thing should hide it well. Or rub in some oil-based pigment, like what comes in tubes for oil painting, or is lying at the bottom of a can of oil-based wood finish before you stir it up. You could rub in some matching penetrating oil-based finish with fine steel wool to smooth out the scratch a little, but if you're new at this test your technique and aptitude on a non-critical area first. If your ding is a dent, you can raise the surface of the dent by laying a damp facecloth over it and applying heat with an iron -- IF it's SOLID wood. If it's veneer, I'd be afraid of loosening the glue. Try on a dented scrap of wood first to decide if you want to proceed with the real goods.
The different experiences with cherry darkening that people have had may have to do with how fresh the wood was when it was made into the box or veneer, and how much light exposure it got before it even got to the speaker company. I agree with greysquirrel. About two years should complete any significant darkening (I think it's UV that does it), based on some furniture I made. It's a natural and beautiful process. If the wood is fairly fresh, the process moves fast, and it wouldn't surprise me if one week produced a tan line. I don't blame you for trying to even up the tan line, but after that I'd say leave the wood alone. Don't color it with polish or anything. Just enjoy the process -- it's a gorgeous wood.