Staining Mahogany

[Lou Ortiz]

Hoping someone can provide a bit of advice on staining to even out color on mahogany. I’m just about ready to start finishing a tea table that I’ve been working on and want to get a closer match between the sides and the aprons/legs/top on this piece. The sides came from a lighter board.

My plan is to spray a water-based dye over the entire piece, mask the darker parts and spray a second coat on the sides, then fill the pores, then spray the lacquer. I’ve also thought about adding a washcoat to the darker pieces and or to the entire piece as part of the sequence.

Any advice would be very much appreciated.

Thanks,

Lou

[Carl Eyman]

If you are looking for the most natural look to the mahogany you can get, the problem gets harder. Jeff Jewitt wrote an article for FWW describing how to solve this problem in walnut with sapwood showing. Following his directions I mixed a dye with a brown mahogany Transtint base made a little redder with Cordovan Transtint for the sapwood, and then went over the whole piece with
Golden Brown Transtint. You would need different colors, of course. You might post this question on his forum and see what answers you get. Coloring the top coat or using a glaze probably would work, but might not give you the final effect you want.

BTW great looking table!

[Lou Ortiz]

Thanks for the tip, Carl. I used both the Transtint Mahogany and the Medium Brown to even out the colors and it seemed to work ok. I've now run myself into a different problem.

I've sprayed lacquer (7 coats) and then went to level the finish. Cut through in a small spot with the sanding. I'd like to avoid stripping the finish and applying the stain again.

Any simple fixes? Would it help to spot color with tinted lacquer?

Thanks!

Lou

[Carl Eyman]

I can't say I've a lot of experience. The current issue of FWW magazine (#192) has an article on "Ten Best Fixes For Finishing Mistakes" by Teri Massaschi. #9 is what they call burn through. She says "carefuly apply more stain, protect it with a light coat of shellac, and replace the top coats". Sounds easier to say than do, but that's what she says. This issue is still on line, I imagine. Why don't you try to bring it up.

[Lou Ortiz]

I've got the issue floating around here somewhere. Didn't take a close look at that article, as I never make finishing mistakes:rolleyes:. Thanks again!