Replies

1. 
   user-83153 | May 01, 2007 06:25am | #1

   My first inclination is to suggest you try a sample without any stain. It is after all a pretty good looking wood on its own. Try a coat of shellac and a topcoat of an oil based varnish.

     But that's just my opinion. As for your question, did you look online for the stain you want? Never mind, I just did. http://www.highlandwoodworking.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=1198

     When you do this make sure you try at least one sample board before committing to your project. If you make a mistake or don't like it as much in person you aren't screwed. I urge you to try more than one finish, on something you put this much time into you want it to be perfect. If you have questions on glazing and such make sure to ask. There is a lot of experience here.

                    Rob

1. 
   autodave | May 01, 2007 06:33am | #2

   My first thought was to just put a oil/varnish topcoat,but after looking at some finishing books it made me think twice.Another question was for the side panels I used veneered MDF core,will this absorb alot different from the solid wood?

2. 
   SteveSchoene | May 01, 2007 02:48pm | #3

   Mahogany has wonderful potential for finishing to fit a wide variety of styles.  Is your chest a reproduction or adaptation of any particular furniture period?  Is its use to be formal or casual.  What are the other furnishings where it will live?  Do you want a fully filled surface with the pores completely flush, or do you want to see the pore structure as indentations in the surface?  Light or dark?  What about the wood--is it "striped" or figured and naturally light or dark. 

   Mahogany will tend to darken over time, unless it gets lots of light where it can be bleached out like other woods. 

   Do you have the facilities to spray--and does that include solvent based finishes?   

1. 
   autodave | May 02, 2007 05:13am | #5

   My chest is not a repo or anything that has to look like period furniture,I mostly liked the color that I seen in the book "Foolproof Finishing by Teri Masaschi",not that I dont like the natural look of  the wood, just that the finish they show took it up a notch.

1. 
   SteveSchoene | May 02, 2007 02:11pm | #6

   You can substitute any dye for the Smooth and Simple.  The particular properties of the waterbased gel won't be necessary on mahogany.  Mahogany takes stain quite nicely without blotching so you can also use a pigmented stain.  Any color absorbancy differences just look like what they are--figure not blotching. 

   As far as whether the veneered panel will take stain the same as the solid wood the only way to know is to try it on scrap.  You always need to test on scraps of the same material anyway.  Remember, with dye you need to have a top coat over the tests since when dye dries it can look quite a bit different (and often much worse) than it will look with some finish on it. 

   I agree that honduran mahogany often is a bit pale for my taste. But it is purely a matter of taste, there is no "right or wrong".   

   Edited 5/2/2007 8:07 am ET by SteveSchoene

   Edited 5/2/2007 8:38 am ET by SteveSchoene

1. 
   autodave | May 02, 2007 04:44pm | #7

   Do you have a particular brand you stick with?Do you find any better than the other?Are water soluable dyes better than alcohol?I do have access to a down draft spray booth.How are gel stains to use?

1. 
   SteveSchoene | May 02, 2007 06:48pm | #8

   Water based aniline dyes are easier to use by hand, alcohol must be sprayed and is generally not as light fast as the water based.  I like the wide range of colors available in the Lockwood line (available as J.E.Moser house brand at Woodworkers Supply).  The TransTint and TransFast are fine, though since there is a smaller range of colors, you might have to mix to get exactly what you want. 

   I'm not particularly fond of gel stains since they don't penetrate and can obscure the naturalness of the wood if you try to go for a darker effect than you get when you rather vigorously wipe them off.  They are most valuable for woods that tend to blotch.  I haven't used the Smooth and Simple which is unusual as being a gel based dye, instead of pigmented stain. 

2. 
   autodave | May 03, 2007 06:03am | #10

   I really appreciate all of your advice,I hope I am not bugging you with to many questions,cause I have a few more.Do you prefer alcohol over water based?If you do multiple coats will it get darker?Do you have any recipes for mahog.?

3. 
   SteveSchoene | May 03, 2007 06:27am | #11

   I prefer water based and apply it with a rag, mostly because that's what I have used most and find it generally works just fine.  Traditionally alcohol soluable dyes are not nearly as color fast as water based, though with metalized dyes that may not be true any longer. 

   Yes, multiple coats do get darker.  For sprayed dye that's a good way to "creap up on" the right darkness.  With hand applied dye, I usually use the flood it one, wipe up excess method where the darkness can be determined largely by the concentration of the dye mix.  Then it's not necessary to slip up to the necessary darkness with multiple coats. 

   I do have a recipe for traditional mahogany that gives a golden highlighted version.  I start with Lemon Yellow dye at a medium strength.  When this dries you will be on the verge of nausea it looks so bad.  I then apply a shellac wash coat, 1 lb. cut +/- depending on the wood.  Then I use another dye, this time a Brown Mahogany.  The wash coat keeps the brown from penetrating as much on  harder, denser portions, leaving them a bit more golden.  Then I seal with another coat of shellac.  If I am going for a full filled surface I generally use a oil based pore filler tinted with a mix of burnt umber and burnt sienna pigment.  Alternatively, I might use a pigmented stain with a similar mix of pigments.  I mostly use shellac as the top coat, brushed on and rubbed out.  For redder mahogany the initial underdye can be changed to a fairly bright red.  I've only experimented with this since I really prefer the more golden look.  This schedule tends to enhance the figure of mahogany, give more interest to what otherwise might be pretty plain mellow wood. 

3. 
   Ronaway | May 01, 2007 03:00pm | #4

   The last time I tried to buy Smooth and Simple from Highland Hardware their stock was limited and I believe they mentioned that Smooth and Simple was no longer going to be available.If that is the case then you may want to look at transtint dyes from Homestead Finishing. I'd be a little wary of too much waterborne finishing materials on mdf cored ply. It might work fine but I'd do some finish samples to make sure.

   Ron Brese

   If you're too open minded your brains will fall out.
4. 
   sapwood | May 03, 2007 04:59am | #9

   All good advice so far..... I will only emphasize the importance of doing samples. The ONLY way to learn finishing is to do sample boards on your own. Cut up the leftover mahog into 6" squares. You want a dozen or more. Try different dyes and stain combinations as your intuition tells you and as the books recommend. A very simple finish will be amber or darker shellac straight onto the wood.