Peter,
Your recent FW article on finishing mahogany was excellent; and timely, as I am building a mahogany desk now.
My question concerns wood color change over time. In your article you mention that the piece had been unfinished for a long time and darkened naturally. My desk has a lot of veneer surfaces that have already darkened with time before laying it down, as well as a lot of freshly milled solid wood frames, legs, etc. that are currently very light. I’m not sure about dyeing the lighter wood as you do in the article, if this wood will darken naturally even more with time. I also don’t want to wait a ‘long time’ before finishing the whole desk. How quickly does mahogany darken naturally? What should I do to get good colors/blends, for the short-term and long-term?
Thanks
Replies
Thanks, I'm glad you liked the article.
Personally, I would bring the freshly milled pieces in to line with the veneer. While most woods do deepen over time, it's a slow and gentle process.
From there, you can do a number of things; oil the wood with BLO or a thin wiping oil like antique oil, watco etc.
You can also seal the dye with shellac and then glaze.
The funny part of this is you can ask ten people and get ten radically different approaches to this.
For me, dyes and glazes do the trick. The wood will age gracefully along with this approach. That's just my opinion.
Keep me posted on your progress.
Sorry for the delay. I'm on the road.
Peter
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