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Character Characteristics
Character maple and character cherry have very different characteristics than standard hard maple, cherry and other woods, giving
it an overall distinctive rustic appearance. Because these wood types are unique, it is important to understand the qualities of character
maple and character cherry.
Character Cherry
Character cherry has very different characteristics than standard cherry and other woods, giving it an overall distinctive rustic
appearance. Its characteristics are brought out by randomly occurring, variously sized knots, worm holes and tracks, gum pockets and
streaks, mineral stains and streaks, burls, blemishes, sapwood, and non-structural splits. The amount of character marks will vary from
each piece of wood, making each cabinet unique. Character cherry will include wood color differences that can range from pink to dark
brown with a flowing grain pattern. While knots in character cherry are more rare than in character maple, it is possible to find open and
closed knots with some knots possibly located in the center panel of door and drawer panels. Cluster knots could also be a feature.
Character Maple
Character maple has very different characteristics than standard hard maple and other woods, giving it an overall distinctive rustic
appearance. Its characteristics are brought out by randomly occurring, variously sized knots, pin holes, worm holes and tracks, gum and
bark pockets, sugar tracks, heartwood and mineral streaks. The amount of character marks will vary from each piece of wood, making
each cabinet unique. Character maple will include wood color differences caused by variations found in minerals in the soil. It will be
common to find open knots and bark pockets. Some knots may have small holes through the center panel. Character features include
knots that may be located in the center panel of the door and drawer panels.
Knots
Open knots located in the center panel of the door and drawer panels are acceptable, though they must be structurally sound. An entire
knot can be as large as 2½” in diameter. Visible openings in knots clear through must not exceed ½”. Cluster knots could also be a feature.
Some knot locations may affect hardware placement.
Other parts of the cabinet like door stiles, rails, and mouldings will not include knots but may show Character Cherry's and Character
Maple's other natural features. Door styles with wide shaker stiles and rails are the only exception to this and will have some knots
located in the stiles and rails of the door.
Appearance
Door parts are chosen at random; therefore, the appearance of each individual door widely varies from a great amount of character
to relatively clear Maple/Cherry. It will be uncommon to find all characteristic marks on any single piece of cabinetry. The natural
characteristics of Character Maple and Character Cherry, including variations in grain patterns and color, are not considered reasons
for product replacement and are not covered under the Warranty Program. We recommend viewing a door sample prior to ordering.
For Character Maple and Character Cherry end panels, use Matching Wall and Base End Panels. Dark stains and paints will hide the
majority of character features. Large open knots and some splits, if present, may still be partially visible. Character features are more
noticeable on Natural or lighter toned finishes. Dark stain on cherry will accentuate the character in the wood.
Finishes
Paints
Many Wellborn Cabinet, Inc. products have paint applied to the face frames, doors, drawer fronts, and end panels. All thermofoil and
laminate cabinets have painted face frames. Color will vary from thermofoil and laminate doors. Painted face frames and other painted
products will eventually have visible cracking around the joint areas. These variations are considered the natural characteristics of the
material in relation to their environment and are not covered under these warranties.
Painted Medium Density Fiberboard (MDF) doors display a color variance from the painted maple face frames used in the same finish
due to the MDF substrate material. This is not considered a defect and is not covered under warranty.
Glazing
Many of Wellborn’s finishes receive a glazing finish process. Wellborn applies a glaze by spraying glaze over the entire product fronts.
Then hand wipe process is performed leaving glaze in the grooves and also color tone is changed on the smooth surface as well. This
process purposely creates an uneven, inconsistent look of light to dark tones in the corners, deep grooves, and wood grains. This is
not considered a product defect and has no warranty.
On Oak
Oak is an open grain wood and, therefore, the glaze techniques will hang up in all open grain areas of the door, which will appear as
“ticking” and “bleed out”. Oak can have the visual of “flecking” which is part of the natural characteristics of this species. Many finishes
such as Tensile do not receive the stain well in the flecking areas. These features are acceptable with specialty finishes on oak and are
not considered defects. Therefore, these features are not covered under these warranties.
On Soft Edges
Certain finishes on soft-edged door styles may show a slight line between the door panel and wood edge. This is not considered a
product defect and has no warranty.
On Hickory
Hickory can have the visual of “flecking” which is part of the natural characteristics of this species. Many finishes such as Tensile do
not receive the stain well in the flecking areas. This feature is acceptable with specialty finishes on hickory and is not considered defect.
Therefore, this feature is not covered under these warranties.
On Bead Board
Door styles with bead board grooves retain more stain in all finishes, resulting in a darker color in the grooves. This is not considered
a product defect and has no warranty.
Self-Applied Finishes
Wellborn Cabinet, Inc. makes no warranty on self-applied finishes. Any self-applied finishes to any Wellborn Cabinet, Inc. products
are not covered under warranty.