Finishing a Mahogany Butcher Block Countertop

[Joe Adams]

I need some advice on the best finishing protocol for a Honduran Mahogany butcher block countertop.

This top was salvaged from the workbench in my Dad's saw sharpening shop and I'm using it for as a desk for my Mom. (Yes, it's been stripped and sanded.)

It wasn't quite long enough so I've added Hard Maple breadboard ends which I'm planning on leaving natural for a two tone look. They are aligned with loose tenons but I haven't glued them in place yet.

I'm planning on spraying General Finishes High Performance High Performance Top Coat (Satin) with Enduro Crosslinker added to increase the durability.

I haven't finished Mahogany before so I would appreciate any advice you might offer before I get started next week.

Sealer, stain, grain filler?

[Scott Holmes]

Water-borne finishes tend to give darker woods a blah look. OK Sheldon you can jump in with all the RI stuff.

Generally I would recomment a dewaxed garnet shellac over the mahogany to seal it (because if it was in a shapening shop it got all kinds of oil on it and a water-borne may have a problem. Shellac will provide a barrier coat and a nice color shift to compensate for the blah water-borne look. Shellac is color fast and will not yellow with time.

[Joe Adams]

Scott,

Thanks for the advice on the shellac.

It was pretty well sealed before going into the sharpening shop having been a bar top in a restaurant before that. I sanded it all the way down to bare wood so hopefully there is no residual oil to cause problems.

Do I need to worry about filling the grain so the open pores don't leave pin holes in my finish?

By the way, this butcher block is edge grain (laminated 1-inch strips running horizontally) rather than end grain.

[Scott Holmes]

Sanding generally is a poor way to remove old finish, unless you remove a lot of wood, as when you sand floors with a floor sander. I suspected it was edge grain as mahogany would not make a very good end grain cutting board, nor edge grain cutting board either... mahogany is ring porus and defuse porus (maple, cherry, birch) "harder" woods are better for cutting boards.