Finish suggestions for mahogany

[Ralph Wiggum]

Hello, this is a little drop front desk I have been working on. I built it from some mahogany scraps that I bought at a auction a few months ago. This is my first time building anything with mahogany. And most of my finish experiance has just been poly on oak trim and cabinets. So I am looking for some suggestions. I want to try to keep it simple, I see these finishing schedules that people post for some of there projects and am amazed at the number of steps they go through. I'm looking to try to keep it fairly light. I did try some Zinser pale shellac, and didn't like the look of it, I then tried it with some dark mahogany stain on top of the shellac and my wife thought it was two dark. I don't have a spray gun, so want to keep it to wipe on or brush on applications.
I also am going to need to fill the pores on some of the boards. I've never used a pore filler so need some suggestions on that too. Do the Borgs carry something like that? As that is about my only choices to buy stuff local, and I would rather not order something with out knowing exactly what I am getting.

Thanks in advance

[Keith Beck]

Ralph,

First off, nice looking desk! I'm not a finishing expert by any stretch of the imagination, so take what I say with a grain of salt.

Anyways, I just made a mantle clock out of Mahogany and I finished it with Waterlox sealer followed by several coats of Waterlox Satin. It's an easy wipe-on finish and I think it made the Mahogany look great.

Keith

[Jamie Buxton]

A simple-to-apply light-colored finish would be Minwax Wipe-on Poly.

Mahogany is like cherry in that it changes color in sunlight. You don't say where you are, but if you're in an area which still has sunlight this time of year, you can darken the wood a bit by putting it out in the sun. The color changes happens a little faster after at least one coat of a solvent-based finish is applied.

[Doug Shepard]

I dont think the Borgs carry filler. I'm still working with a can I got at Rockler's a long while back. I think Woodcraft probably has something too. I've used it on red oak with very good results. The one bigger item I've made out of mahogany, I wished I'd have used the grain filler. One of these days I may sand it back down to bare wood and redo it but you can really feel the grain lines under the finish even though it's smooth. I think the can I got was an oil-based filler. The red oak I've used it on left the surface smoooooooth after sanding.

[Ralph Wiggum]

Keith, can you post a picture of your clock so I can see how the finish turned out?

Jamie, I'm in Missouri, and it looks like our sunshine is gone for awhile, not sure I want to try that either, would be afraid it wouldn't turn out very even.

Like I said this was a mixed lot of lumber I bought at a auction. I got 40 1x4x48 inch pieces for $1 each. They had nail holes in each end, and a couple had leters painted on them, must have been one heck of a shipping container. So was thinking about some kind of stain to even out the colors.

On the pore filler, didn't think I had ever seen it at the borgs, but haven't looked for it either. Guess I will have to order it. Any suggestions on a brand or type? I guess it comes in different colors?

[Doug Shepard]

I just checked Rockler's site, and they might not carry it anymore? Couldn't find anything there but Woodcraft has some WB filler that would probably do the trick
http://www.woodcraft.com/family.aspx?FamilyID=4493&cs=4492
I think you mainly want to avoid fillers with the same solvent as the finish over top of it (WB finish over WB filler for example), so you dont re-dissolve any of the filler.

[Larry Fox]

Perhaps some BLO, fill the grain with pumice / BLO mixture perhaps. Let it dry for a few days and either shellac of Waterlox if you need more durability (which you likely will given it is a desk). Fairly simple schedule and you don't need a spray rig to do it.

[William Nimmo]

A simple-to-apply light-colored finish would be Minwax Wipe-on Poly.

Mahogany is like cherry in that it changes color in sunlight. You don't say where you are, but if you're in an area which still has sunlight this time of year, you can darken the wood a bit by putting it out in the sun. The color changes happens a little faster after at least one coat of a solvent-based finish is applied.

Actually I find Mahogony to be the opposite of cherry. It lightens in sunlight instead of darkening. I made a sign out of mahogony for inside my storefront window and the sun has made the wood much lighter in color over time.

[Jim King]

Here when we work with Mahogany we use a laquer sealer and many coats of laquer applied with rubbed cotton and sanded between each 6 or 8 coats.

The Mahogany being a soft porus wood compared to many of the tropicals will take a lot of coats to finish well. When fresh sawn Genuine Mahogany is almot white and in time turns the traditional Mahogany dark red color. It will take a year to get to its best color.

[Steven Wilson]

I like to apply a seal coat of shellac (1.5 lb cut of something fairly light), followed by dark brown pore filler, and then finish with Kusmi shellac (med red/brw color with wax in it). The sealer coat of shellac keeps the pigment of the pore filler from coloring the wood, just the pores. The Kusmi shellac looks good on Mahogany.

[Al Killian]

I like to use danish oil. It soaks in quick and makes the grain stand out more.

[Brian Matzke]

I recently made a serving tray out of Mahogany. Used General Finishes Arm-R-Seal Satin Finish. I put on 3 coats. It has oil in it, so the finish darkened up nicely.

[Ralph Dobbertin]

I like 3 parts boiled linseed oil with 1 part turpentine. You can add some Japan dryer (couple drops) to help it dry. Warm the mixture in a double boiler (warm, not hot) and them apply liberally. Wait about 30 minutes and then rub in some rottenstone. Work that in a few minutes and then wipe everything off. This is very simple, gives a great color, darkens the wood slightly fills the pores a little and looks a little antiqued. I'm sure you will like it.

BTW: I got this from Tom Wisshack from Tauntons "Finishes and Finishig Techniques"


Hello, this is a little drop front desk I have been working on. I built it from some mahogany scraps that I bought at a auction a few months ago. This is my first time building anything with mahogany. And most of my finish experiance has just been poly on oak trim and cabinets. So I am looking for some suggestions. I want to try to keep it simple, I see these finishing schedules that people post for some of there projects and am amazed at the number of steps they go through. I'm looking to try to keep it fairly light. I did try some Zinser pale shellac, and didn't like the look of it, I then tried it with some dark mahogany stain on top of the shellac and my wife thought it was two dark. I don't have a spray gun, so want to keep it to wipe on or brush on applications.
I also am going to need to fill the pores on some of the boards. I've never used a pore filler so need some suggestions on that too. Do the Borgs carry something like that? As that is about my only choices to buy stuff local, and I would rather not order something with out knowing exactly what I am getting.

Thanks in advance