Mahogany Finishing Questions

[Steve Benson]

So im currently building a platform bed for my wife for her birthday, the bed has a 8" ledge all the way around and a 1/2" ebony inlay i was wondering what finish would be durable enough for my kids to step on to get into the bed and stuff, but will allow the rich color of the Mahogany. I was going to go what David Marks says and put a coat of potassium-dichromate on the mahogany to darken and enrich the wood. But what type of protective finish should i use. Im new to wood work but in the few projects i have made i feel the finish hasnt come out super good. I have used Tung oil after staining red oak twice and brush on poly over stained red oak 1 time. I feel part of problem is surface prep, which i will pay much greater attention to this time as this bed will probably end up costing me about 700bux in wood alone. So any help would be appreciated.
Thanks Steve

[Prashun Patel]

I just finished a bench for my father using some mahogany. I found that Boiled Linseed oil really gives it a beautiful dark brown glowing cast. I also had great luck with Waterlox original. To be honest, though, I find that good sanding and a good brush are more important than choosing a 'forgiving' finish.

I'm doing a followup piece with (don't laugh!) Ace Spar Varnish which costs about 1/3 the price of the Waterlox and I find it applies similarly. Both are phenolic resin varnishes.

[Zahid Naqvi]

Steve, coincidentally I am in the finishing stages of a Walnut bed. Walnut has some similarities with mahogany; they are both open grained, medium hardness, and finish very well with many types of finishes. In my case the unanimous decision of SMCers was to use Shellac. I must say it turned out really well. As for durability, once again the unanimous verdict was that you do not need the same degree of durability as you do for a table top, hence the shellac. Below is a picture of one of the stiles of the bed, there is some french polishing experimentation involved, but just plane shellac applied through a pad will get quite decent results.


For a fool proof finish use the "witches brew", I used that on a hall table I made with mahogany and it turned out excellent. The frame in this picture is mahogany.

[Steve Benson]

I was looking at a shellac finish but i will have to research more for surface prep and for best application method. Im looking for a Gloss - Semi Gloss Finish so we will see. Secondly how many coats would be durrable enough for little boys and how often if ever do i have to recoat or what kind of annual maintenance am i looking at?
Thanks
Steve

[Larry Fox]

Im looking for a Gloss - Semi Gloss Finish so we will see.

I would use Waterlox as a starting point and experiment from there to see what works for you. On Mahogony you also need to decide if you are going for a filled-pore or unfilled-pore look.

Secondly how many coats would be durrable enough for little boys

If they are anything like my two boys the only finish I can recommend / have found that would be durable enough would be two or three coats of asphalt roofing shingles.

[Steve Benson]

What is the difference between filled pore and unfilled pore, like does anyone have pictures of the difference and how do you fill the pores?
Thanks

[Prashun Patel]

If you don't fill the pores in mahogany, then it's hard to achieve a 'mirror glass' finish. The pores will show up as little pits which keep the finish from leveling perfectly.

I was able to do it by shellacking and sanding back, but I had to do it a few times. The easier way is to use a pore filler. However, IMHO, it's really only noticeable on broad, flat surfaces. I think for yr bed, filling pores is overkill; I'd just concentrate on putting on many coats of yr varnish.

Important note - I'm no pro.

[Zahid Naqvi]

I was looking at a shellac finish but i will have to research more for surface prep and for best application method. Im looking for a Gloss - Semi Gloss Finish so we will see.

Surface prep is exactly like any other finish, if you sand go as far as 320 grit, followed by a thorough cleaning/wiping of the surface and apply finish. Shellac itself will give you a glossy look when dried, you have to rub it to get a semi-gloss look.

Secondly how many coats would be durrable enough for little boys and how often if ever do i have to recoat or what kind of annual maintenance am i looking at?
Thanks
Steve

as I said earlier the finish on a bed does not have to be as durable as a tabletop, most of the damage on beds is sustained by the matress that's where all the jumping gets done. Plus shellac is one of the easiest finishes to repair if it gets damaged or worn. # of coats will depend on the concentration of the shellac you are using and what will you do after the shellac has dried. If you are using 1# cut I would say atleast 4-6 coats, only 2 coats of 3# cut should be good. The premixed Zinser shellac I get from HD in a can is 3# cut. The witch's brew I refered to earlier is also a very common finish. Made by mixing equal parts of oil(tung, BLO etc), drier (naphtha, mineral spirits etc) and topcoat (polyurethane etc).

[Steve Benson]

Ok so i used Potassium DiChromate to darken my mahogany and then i used Constantines Paste Wood Filler in Red Mahogany. After i had put on the pore filler it turned the wood pretty dark red, i think it is pretty but i liked the color of the wood after the potassium chromate. So what i am asking is on the can it says do a light sanding with 320grit after 24 hours. First should i wait longer than 24hrs cause i read people taking about 3-7days for oil based pore filler to cure. Second when i sand it do i have to really worry about sanding through what the potassium dichromate did, cause if i could remove the pore filler and get to that layer it would be perfect. Third I planed on applying a coat or 2 of Seal A Cell and then prolly 3-5 coats or Arm R Seal, is this necessary as i want it to be durable but not take any more time than necessary and is Seal A Cell even needed as i read some posts bashing it as completely unnecessary. The formula i am using is similar to David Marks but i watched Mark Spagnolo off the wood whisperer use Seal A Cell as a final finish and sometimes with Arm R Seal.
Thanks Again
Steve

Also i will post a bunch of in progress pics of my bed as well as the samples of the wood after i get your advice.
Thanks

[Dave Tinley]

This lingerie chest was made out of mahogany and finished with "witches brew", or what I call "Texas Tea", because I use tung oil instead of blo.

[Steve Benson]

anyone have experience with what i am talking bout?

[Lou Ortiz]

Steve,

I haven't done the potassium dichromate thing, but I've worked a bit with staining and filling mahogany.

With any chemical treatment or staining, you treated the entire surface, once you filled the pores and scraped off the filler, that should have left the pores the color of the filler and the remainder of the wood whatever you came up with on the treatment. Presumably, the filler is covering the coloring inside the pores. You may have also left some of the filler covering the surface of the wood outside the pores. If you sand back, it seems to me that you'd run the risk of only sanding off the color treatment (depending on the depth it went into the surface) and still be left with the pores filled. Of course, you could always sand all the way back and start over if you really want the color, or try the color treatment again. If you try the color treatment again, I'd recommend using a sample before doing the whole piece.

Good luck!

R

Lou