Staining sapele to match teak?

[Dave Cav]

I am building a sapele (african mahogany) china cabinet. It will go between two teak and glass display cases which contain my wife's cut glass. I would like to darken the sapele (which is reddish) to more or less match the color of the teak, which is generaly dark and strongly grained. I know the grain won't match (the sapele has a very distinct ribbon/interlocked grain) but I would like to get the colors close.
Suggestions?

thanks

[Scott Holmes]

In my mind's eye...
I see teak as a light tan with pronounced grain...
Sapele is much redder... sounds as if you have "ribbon" or "striped" sapele

Is that the question, how to kill the red?

[Dave Cav]

Exactly; I want to tone down the red and bring out the darker brown tones. The teak is more dark brown than tan in this case. I'm thinking about getting some water based dye stains to try on some scraps.

[jesse ross]

Sapele takes analine dye quite well. Heres a photo of a sapele veneer dresser dyed with a combination of Lockwood's #22 Georgian Brown Mahogany and #41 Adam Brown Mahogany. A dilute washcoat of shellac was applied sparingly first to even the way the dye took to the Mahogany, followed by the dye, then 4 thin coats of Waterlox, wiped back.

Yes, I work for Lockwood, but this is in no way designed to be a marketing pitch. Just my observations in using dyes on wood on my own projects

Hope this helps
Jesse

[Dave Cav]

Thanks. That is the effect I'm looking for. What carrier did you use for the dye, water, alcohol or oil?

[jesse ross]

This is probably overkill, but here is the whole finishing process:

- Dampen all wood surfaces to raise grain, let dry for a few hrs.

- Knock grain back with 120 grit, lightly, clean dust off

- Apply blond shellac flake dissolved to a 1/3 lb cut, wiped on lightly in lanes with as little overlap as possible, with a lint free cloth. Let dry for an hour.

- Dissolve dye into hot water. Pour between 2 containers to make sure all powder has dissolved, apply with wide foam brush, avoid dripping or splattering. Let stand on the wood for a minute than wipe back for a smooth, even coverage. I believe I waited about an hour then brushed on dye again for a deeper color. Let dry overnight.

(Unfortunately I don't remember what proportion I mixed the 2 colors or at what strength, but every project would be different and would involve mixing the colors to one's own taste. However, the total surface area of the 3 cabinets was 60 sq. ft. The recommended solubility for these particular colors is 1 oz in 1-4 pints of water, depending on desired shade. Since 1 pint of dye solution covers about 50 sq. feet, and I stained the cabinets twice, I probably didn't use more than 2-3 total oz. of dye for the whole project.)

- Apply Waterlox, working in and spreading out with a brush, then wiping back with a lint free cloth just as it starts to get tacky. Repeat 3 more coats with about 8 hrs drying time between. Sand lightly after the third coat with 120 and the last with 120 then 220 grit.

Thats it, of course variations are definitely possible. Some people apply the shellac before initially sanding back the raised grain. Mahogany isn't too blotchy, so the shellac could have been skipped but it did smoothen the way the dye took to the wood. Some people put a little waterborne finish in with the dye to achieve a similar smoothness and insure the color is locked down into the wood, or apply a washcoat of shellac after the dye is applied to seal in the color. Since I was using many coats of waterlox, and shooting for as mellow a finish as possible, I skipped a sealcoat.

Hardwood edging was alcohol soluble #60 ebony black, pre-dissolved in methanol, and suspended in shellac in a last minute decision.

[Scott Holmes]

To kill red and make it brown you need green... look on a color wheel green is opposite of red... try a "raw umber" to kill redness.

[Pete McMahon]

To kill red and make it brown you need green... look on a color wheel green is opposite of red... try a "raw umber" to kill redness.

Scott,

Don't know if you use Lockwood dyes or not but the Georgian Brown mahogany previously mentioned will fit the bill as it is a cool greenish brown. Their Adam brown mentioned is also a dark cool brown like a VDB.