I am new to working with wood and am in the process of refurbishing my mahogany staircase. The staircase was open so our builder has added infills to each step, some new newel posts, and we have ordered custom-made glass panels to fit in the balustrades on brackets.
I want to match the new mahogany with the old wood as best as possible. I’ve sanded away the old finish (except for the stairs, which I’m leaving til last so I don’t walk on them untreated).
I’ve read about finishing mahogany but don’t have a clear idea of the best way to go about this, especially as it will be on a staircase that is already fixed in place and I’ll need to stand on the stairs as I work to reach higher sections.
Any advice on how to go about this or which products to use would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you,
Tom
Replies
Mahogany used to be stained to get that rich burgundy color, you will need to find a oil based gel stain to match the steps, General Finishes makes excellent gel stains and mahogany is easy to stain, just apply with a brush, by the time you get to the other end, go back where you started and wipe it, the more you wipe, the lighter it gets so don’t overdo it, adding stain on top of the lighter areas will only make them lighter since it will dissolve the undercoat so do it right the first time.
I agree with Gulfstar, in this application, stain is probably preferable to using a dye. I used to work on yachts, and mahogany was used extensively in older boats. Mahogany takes a stain very evenly. Regarding "I’ll need to stand on the stairs as I work to reach higher sections", you can probably obviate this by starting at the top and working down. You'll have to watch for drips (perhaps cover the step below the one you're working on). Good luck, it looks great so far, and the proposed improvements seem like they'll be awesome. Hopefully you'll update this discussion with photos when you're done.