Cherry will continue to darken for several years with or without exposure to the sun. I don't know how you can prevent it.

 

I want it to darken but I am worried it won't continue to darken after I put lacquer on it but if it does I will be putting the finish on it soon.

 

I am by noooo means an expert. OK to be honest this is an educated guess, but here goes…

A lot of the pieces we see now a days made years ago where not all stained. I am confident they where sealed by some sort, but I'm pretty confident that they all where not stained. So if we are seeing the "Natural" darkened cherry now I would guess it still darkened up with the finish on it. I doubt that made a bit of sense…lol

I personaly love the look of cherry with BLO on it. It darkens the piece and highlights the woods natural color. May want to get a test piece and try some.

Good luck and wish I could of been more help….

 

cherry will continue to darken over time regardless of the finish. putting lacquer on it wont prevent this. sunlight will also speed up the process with or without finish on it.

 

as jesse_rei said cherry will darken with age regardless of the finish and sunlight will rapidly increase the process, a week isnt very much time though. My guess would be that it would take a little longer.

 

A week in direct sunlight will make a difference, but like the others have said, it will continue to darken over time even with a lacquer finish. If you leave the drawer in it while you are trying to give it a "suntan", you will see the difference once you pull the drawer out and you can compare the cherry that was in the direct sunlight versus the cherry that was hidden by the drawer. It will definitely have a tan line.
If you would like cherry to look 100 years old instantly, you can use Red Devil Lye…......Very toxic and very dangerous, but Wow, what a look. Make sure you get some instructions before attempting that one!

 

Jerry,

A few HOURS in the sun makes a big difference in cherry. Boiled linseed oil makes it pop and helps the ageing process along. It will continue to darken for years, but 80% will happen in the first few hours in the sun. There is almost never an excuse to stain cherry. It's too beautiful without it.

Steve