I have a small side table I need to finish and wondered if anyone has a recommendation on stain for Honduran Mahogany.
I’ve done some true Mahogany pieces before and thought they were a little too orange/red for my tastes. I’ve just gone with Sealcoat and then a wiping varnish over that in the past.
I’ve done some research on the more involved multi-step stain treatments, chemical treatments etc. With this little table I was hoping just to just go with an easily sourced stain from a box store and finish with the same wiping varnish. However I want to avoid killing it with pigment since I don’t plan on filling the grain.
The only catch with this table is that have some quilted mahogany panels in it that I would like to pop the figure.
So I was thinking some BLO to pop the quilt, then some stain to reduce the red/orange a bit, thinned Sealcoat and then a wiping varnish.
Thought somebody might have had a good experience with an easy to source stain over mahogany they might share.
The table has a heavy Chinese influence for what that is worth.
Replies
Mahogany can finish beautifully, but in general you won't get good results from a one step out of the can stain. Adding steps makes the process easier, not harder since it allows you do things systematically, rather than relying on some manufacturer who makes products for the lowest common denominator. Mahogany just takes stain out the can so "well" that using it just creates a less interesting homogenous surface.
Starting with a dye, then topping with pigment only stain does a much better job and keeping a natural look--and can be made to look much more like antiques made with Cuban or Dominican mahogany. In particular, you can do things that bring out the latent figure in lots of mahogany, turning rather dull boards into something more vibrant.
For example, I have done mahogany by starting with a powdered yellow water soluble dye--which when applied in a medium concentration give a disgusting yellow cast to the surface. It's still pretty ugly when given a light sealing top coat of roughly 1 lb. cut shellac. I then apply a second dye coat, this time witha brown mahogany dye. The dye, over the partially sealed surface darkens the more porous parts of the figure more. Denser portions of the wood are better sealed by the shellac and don't accept as much dye. Wipe off excess dye, so you don't have dye powder that doesn't penetrate laying on the surface. This brings the overall color back to the more traditional mahogany hues, but with less orange and more "gold" peaking through. Then I seal this with another coat of shellac. Over this, a pigment only stain, a little "browner" that the brown mahogany dye, lodges almost entirely in the pores giving a deeper richer look. Yes, a bunch of steps, but they work toward an interesting surface. I usually finish with shellac for top coats, but varnish including wiping varnish would work well too.
Thanks for the detailed reply.I also searched on the Greene & Greene forum on Yahoo, figured they would have dealt with the mahogany issue quite a bit as well. Multi-step dye/stain seems to be the method for gallery-grade results.I'm feeling a bit more resigned to a multi-step dye-stain finish, I know that it will produce a better interaction with light. I was hoping for a shortcut since this isn't exactly a gallery-quality piece so I didn't see the need for a gallery-grade finish. Its just some parts I had laying around and I decided to clean them up and let them be a table. I suppose it will be good practice for the future.
I once finished a piece with a weak yellow dye, followed by a wash thin blond shellac. I then scuff sanded the shellac and applied a coat of Behlen Master Brown Mahogany gel stain (any brown gel stain would work just as well), which was wiped carefully for the desired look. It turned out nicely.
I don't have a very good photo of the piece, but the following link is the best I have.
http://americanfederalperiod.com/Jefferson%20Desk.html
Rob Millard
Rob,
Do you often fill the mahoghany first?
Frank
My typical schedule is to color the mahogany with lime, yellow dye and dyed oil, followed by a wash coat of shellac, and then use the an oil based grain filler.
On the Jefferson desk shown in the link, I put the filler on after the wash coat of shellac, and when it had cured, I put on the gel stain.
Rob Millardhttp://www.americanfederalperiod.com
Rob,
That is a lovely piece. Do you mix the yellow dye in linseed oil?
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