How to get a Reddish Brown Mahogany finish on Walnut?

[dan mahler]

I have a mahogany veneered chest that has a reddish brown stained finish. I needed to add/replace the molding on a couple of spots and since I didn’t have any mahogany I used some scrap walnut to recreate the molding. Before staining the new raw walnut molding I am experimenting with some of the scrap walnut trying to match the color of the existing finish. I have used a mixture of minwax stains that are brown and dark red but the results are mainly a brown. Any advice on how to get the same reddish brown finish on the walnut? Thanks.

[Larry Fox]

Maybe take a look at TransTint and see if there is a color or combination of colors that gets you what you need. Once you get close, add it to some compatable topcoat of your choice and experiment on some scrap from the same board (if possible) and tweek it from there.

However, it might be easier (both in terms of time and $$) to just pick up some Mahogany so you will be starting from a point closer to where you eventually want to end up.

[Jim Becker]

Dan, walnut may be hard to get to the color you want even after it ages and lightens as it will do over time...I agree with Larry relative to sourcing some mahogany.

[Steve Clardy]

I did some Maple cabs earlier this year.

I used Minwax Red Mahogany, 1 part, to 3 parts Early American.
They came out a nice Redish Brown.

http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=54001

[Steve Schoene]

You could probably get there by using a 2-part wood bleach to remove the color of the walnut and then use dye and stain to achieve the color you want.

Would I do that? No. It's a whole lot easier to start from Honduran mahogany. Listen to Larry and Jim on this.

[Matt P]

I just stained some walnut with MinWax Red Mahogany stain and I was impressed how nice it came out - uniform color, etc..