help with "mirro" finish on mahagony

[John S. Genzer]

I am a relatively new to workworking but have just finished several plant stands and a glass door display cabinet. I made these out of pine, walnut, mahagony, and hickory. So far my finishing has been simple with stain and poly.

Now I am going to build a secretary desk out of mahogony or walnut and wish to finish it with the old style "dark" mirror type finish. I do not have spray equipment. I have read a lot about this finish process and have several questions:
1. what is the best way step by step to achieve a mirror type finish without having spray equipment? And, product suggestions would be appreciated here also; do I use poly or shellac? Do I try something like BLO and no pore filler?

2. Do I need to apply the stain and then the grain filler BEFORE I assemble the desk (which will have small compartments for letters, bills, etc, and a drawer-so a lot of corners and joints where pieces come together)? Then apply the finish coats of poly after assembly? That just dosent seam right to me (but what do I know as a beginner but how well will I be able to apply grain filler into all the corners where pieces join if I do it after assembly? Any advice here would be appreciated.

By the way, I do this as a hobby-not for sale. The secretary desk is for one of my daughters.

Thanks for your help. In the past I have gotten some great guidence from this site while making those plant stands and that cabinet.
Thanks,
John

[David Christopher]

John, there will be alot of suggestions but mine is
1. stain and let dry
2. apply lacquer sanding sealer
3. sand with 400 grit, wipe down, apply grain filler and let dry and rub off with burlap rag
4. apply several coats of brushing lacquer
5 sand up to 800 grit
6. start polishing with compounds and get progressively finer then wax


Hope I didnt leave anything out and good luck

[John S. Genzer]

Thanks Dave. I am guessing that you would do this finishing onn the assembled desk right?

Thanks again,
John

[David Christopher]

Thanks Dave. I am guessing that you would do this finishing onn the assembled desk right?

Thanks again,
John

yes .....if you get wax in a joint before assembled the glue will not stick

[Scott Holmes]

Poly would be a POOR choice of finish for this project.

Poly is very tough, it is not HARD; a desk needs hard; a mirror finish needs hard.

Hard varnishes are the most durable; shellac and lacquer are a little harder but not as durable.

The hardest varnishes are made with Phenolic resins: Waterlox Original & Behlen's Rock Hard Table Top are the most readily available.

Lacquer and shellac are easier to repair, than varnish.

Lacquer can be built up thick and buffed to a high gloss; as can the hard varnishes.
Shellac on the other hand should have the thinnest possible coat that is flawless. A thick coat of shellac will alligator.

[drew hutchinson]

skip the poly and use Behlen's - it will provide a much more durable finish. If you finish carefully you can get a near "mirror" with minimum rub out.

[Prashun Patel]

I made a writing desk out of mahogany last year. You mention you want it 'dark' too.

Here's how I did it without a pore filler:

Transtint Medium Brown Aniline dye @2% in water. 2 coats sponged.
Light sanding
BLO (in retrospect, I doubt this does much; you can probably skip it).
Cabots alkyd varnish - brushed. (Waterlox or Behlens Rockhard TT are better choices - personal preference).

Keep sanding with 320 or 400 until the dried coats show no dimpling from the grain.

I find Waterlox Original to brush extremely well. Don't be scared by it's price; it's worth every penny IMHO if you're brushing.

[Larry Fox]

Thin + mirror gloss + "old style" + durable + no spray gear == French Polish in my book.

[Scott Holmes]

French polish (shellac technique) on Mahogany is indeed beautiful; and labor intense.

It is not nearly as durable as a varnish finish. Spray equipment is not needed for a mirror finish... proper finish and technique is a must. FLAT is also a must; smooth and flat are not the same.

[John S. Genzer]

I made a writing desk out of mahogany last year. You mention you want it 'dark' too.

Here's how I did it without a pore filler:

Transtint Medium Brown Aniline dye @2% in water. 2 coats sponged.
Light sanding
BLO (in retrospect, I doubt this does much; you can probably skip it).
Cabots alkyd varnish - brushed. (Waterlox or Behlens Rockhard TT are better choices - personal preference).

Keep sanding with 320 or 400 until the dried coats show no dimpling from the grain.

I find Waterlox Original to brush extremely well. Don't be scared by it's price; it's worth every penny IMHO if you're brushing.

Shawn,
Would you have a picture of your writing desk to share?
Thanks,
John

[Prashun Patel]

http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthre...any+sofa+table

It's nothing special. Also, rereading my post at the time I see that I did fill the grain with rottenstone and BLO. I don't think I did it right, though, bkz i still had dimples that required a few varnish coats to get it flat.

[Jeff Monson]

John,

I also just finished a mahogany desk and I can tell you from learned lessons to grain fill as Shawn pointed out, the wood is very open grained and you will not get a mirror like finish without filling the grain.

I darkened my mahogany with potassium dichromate, followed by blo, (should have grain filled at this point) followed by sprayed laquer. I ended up using several coats of laquer on the top sanding each coat back untill the grain was filled. I did end up with a mirror finish but it took along time that could have been avoided.

Good luck on your project and be sure to post some pics, mahogany is a beutiful wood and fun to work with.

[Casey Gooding]

You can use an oil/varnish blend to fill the pores. Equal parts varnish (Gloss in your case), boiled linseed oil and mineral spirits. Liberally apply finish and sand with 600 grit wet/dry while still wet. Allow to sit for a few minutes and wipe off excess across the grain. Allow to dry overnight. For future coats, flood surface, allow to sit a few minutes and wipe off excess. Lightly sand between coats after the third or fourth coat. You will need to apply 7-10 coats to really build up a high gloss finish. Polish with automotive polish after your final coat.