I cringed twice as I was reading your post.

The first was when you wrote about staining the cherry dark. Cherry darkens naturally without staining. It seems to me to be a waste of cherry to stain it dark, when a much less expensive wood could be stained dark and look better.

The second cringe was about the epoxy. Stain only works on pourous materials. Epoxy is not porous, meaning the stain will not be absorbed at all on the epoxy.

The sanding question was a good question as sanding has a great impact on staining. Most recommendations are to sand to no more than 150 grit before applying stain. Reason being that sanding with finer grits burnishes the surface and actually impedes stain absorbtion.

I have never used gel stains simply because gel stains are more paint than stain. It may be the only recourse you have left if you wish to artificially darked your mantel.

Actually, using a shellac finish(amber) would 'age' the look better than poly.

Thanks for the response. I don't want to stain it 'dark' I realise that it darkens with age but was wondering which stain might give me a flame mahogany look or a tone that wasn't too light as all the other woods in the room are medium to dark. I have also read that cherry doesn't take stain very evenly so if not gel stains then what is best?

I also 'cringed' about the epoxy as I suspected it wouldn't absorb stain as well. Hence my post. Do I need to remove the epoxy and if so how and what do I replace it with?

Looking for constructive solutions.

Thanks

A good finish for cherry:
1. A generous application of boiled linseed oil, applied, let sit for 20-30 minutes then wipe off all excess. Let cure for a few days.

2. An application of garnet shellac, wiped or sprayed on. Let dry 30 minutes or more.

3. Several coats of alkyd (non-polyurethane) varnish, a day apart and sanded lightly in between.

4. Give it time and light exposure to develop a patina and chatoyance unrivaled by trying to stain with a consumer-grade produce. Using this schedule will be far superior to anything you have in mind in your post.

You not not need a "poly" on a mantle. Poly's main feature is abrasion resistance (as on floors).

Yes, the degree of sanding does make a difference in staining. Most canned stains contain pigment that is fine particles suspended in the solution of thinner and binder. These lodge in irregularities in the wood surface. You can figure out the rest -- if you sand to the point where you are polishing the wood, there is little place for the particles to land.

As far as "some sort of epoxy," there are numerous products, but none will take stain just like the wood (if at all).

What Bobs nephew said.

Just make sure the BLO(linseed oil) is fresh. Buying it from a paint store(real one like Sherwin Williams)helps make sure it is freah.

BLO over the shelf life often never dries.