Just figured out why my cherry projects always looked off
The grain was raising after every coat of finish. I sanded between layers, but it never stayed smooth. Tried a paste wood filler before the final seal, and boom, problem solved. Now I use it on all open-grain woods.
Wait, so cherry wood has been trolling us all this time? lol I spent ages sanding that stuff smooth, only for it to puff up again like it's laughing at me. That grain raising thing is such a sneaky trick. Of course the fix is something simple like paste filler, after all that grief. Classic woodworking, where the answer is always 'just add more stuff' until it works. Glad you cracked the code, man.