How would you finish this mahogany

[dan sherman]

I've never worked with mahogany before, so bare with me. I just finished preparing some sample of "genuine mahogany" for SWMBO (she hasn't seen them yet.)

The board on the left, is flat-sawn, and the board on the right is rift-sawn. I wiped them both down with MS for the photo, & to get a look at them. I think I have got the color in the photo adjusted pretty close to what it actually looks like.

I love the grain, (or lack there of) in the rift-sawn boards, it changes color when the light hits it from different angles. The rub is that SWMBO is going to say it's to orange when she sees it.

How would you go about making the rift sawn board more brown? I was thinking, BLO, then garnet shellac.

[glenn bradley]

I'll be watching as I have the same problem. Having recently done a BLO and clear shellac . . . it's still orange. I don't have any garnet handy but did try some Transtint brown mahogany . . . pretty darn brown . . . still thinking about it.

[Bryan Hosford]

I use:

1.) General Finishes Brown Mahogany Gel Stain. Just dark enough to give a consistant color, but not too dark that the grain gets covered
2.) Ruby Shellac - 2 coats.
3.) Wipe on poly.

I find it gives it a nice warm looking color, but still allows the grain to show.

[Shawn Patel]

Keep in mind that your choice of topcoat will also alter the color. If you use an oil based top, this usually means some more 'amberizing'.

I've dealt with SWMBO before, and in my experience, yr best bet is getting the boss involved from the get go. Make a few test boards - including top coat, and have her select.

The best way to control the color is to use an aniline dye. Transtint's Medium Brown or Brown Mahogany are great choices. Don't be intimidated by the mixing or the price. It's easy, and it goes a long way.

I'd start with a 2% solution in water, and sponge it on. Beware that even though it dulls when the water dries, the color will pop back when you topcoat it.

I humbly also suggest that when you get yr dye, you get some Amber, Red, black as well. These can be used to alter the brown in a million, natural looking, ways.

[Greg Crawford]

+1 on the Gen Fin Brown mahogany. To cancel out the orange, you can use a touch of blue or purple (can't remember which, have to look at a color wheel) dye in the shellac. Would take some experimenting.

I'm refinishing my front door, and have the same translucent effect in the mahogany that I want to keep. The gel stain is controllable so it doesn't hide the beauty of the natural wood, plus the brown tones down the orange somewhat. Using Waterlox on top though, and it brings some of the orange back out.

Don't forget, the mahogany will darken with time, which will also take out some of the orange.

[J. Scott Holmes]

Blue turns orange brown.

Just look at a color wheel the pie shape 180 degrees from the color you have will be the color that will turn it brown.

Green goes brown with red. Red goes brown with green. Ditto for oragne and blue. and yellow and purple.

NOTE: this works perfectly with a color wheel and true colors. Working with the oragne in mahogany is different but adding a drop of blue to the mix will kill the orange.

[Faust M. Ruggiero]

Making two pieces of any wood look the same color when their natural color is so different is almost impossible without using a huge amount of pigment. Unfortunately, that much pigment in a stain base acts more like paint than stain. It will totally hide the grain.
Since mahogany is such an open pore wood, you might try filling both pieces with dark grain filler but I would be surprised is they turn out similar and still show a clear grain pattern. Of course, if you don't care about the grain, pick a dark gel stain and try that.
It really is important to choose stock for a project that is similar in color.
fmr

[sean m. titmas]

I have had much success with using ML Campbells SB2 spray stain. spray stains gets cut with 50-100% lacquer thinner and are sprayed in 3-5 very light coats so you can creep up on the desired color without going over. because spray stains sit on the surface of the wood and not down in the pores of the wood its possible to achieve a more uniform tone and keep the grain visible, even when the wood color varies. i finish the wood with three coats of conversion varnish for a bullet proof finish that stays clear.

[J. Scott Holmes]

Toners are used all the time for this very purpose.