I am building an entertainment system made of solid mahogany and ply. My finishing schedule is based on Jeff Jewitt’article on finishing mahogany (2003)and is as follows:
Base coat of aniline die (“honeytone amber”)
A coat of BLO mixed with earth pigments
a topcoat of shellac
My problem is that I (and my “client”whife) want to remove the reddish tone in the mahogany. I have tried different mix with raw umber and/or burnt umber without being able to remove the reddish tone. I am aiming at a final color of “light walnut”. I don’t want the colour to be too dark as it is a fairly large piece of furniture.
Any thoughts or suggestions?
Bernard B
Replies
A green dye will "remove" the red and replace it with a more brown tone.
Rob Millard
A bleaching kit (the two part kind) will remove all of the color in the wood, and then you can die it what ever you want. I am crying inside.
Todd
Why not just make the thing out of plastic? Then you can have whatever color you want.
Sorry, had to get that out of my system. It seems a shame to take a beautiful piece of wood and try to make it look like something else. Why use mahogany in the first place if you want the product to be something other than mahogany in color?
One should enjoy wood for what it is -- a natural product. Use it's natural beauty, don't try to hide it. For instance, I hate it when someone mentions the same thing in reference to cherry.
Like the man said: "Staining cherry is like putting a burlap bag over Shania Twain!"
Amen and amen!
Bill Arnold - Custom Woodcrafting
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Food for Thought: The Ark was built by amateurs; the Titanic by professionals.
I see your point. As adastra has mentioned, the aim is not to "paint" over mahogany but rather to reduce the red hue in the wood approximately as it is performed in the mentioned article. I understand that by adding a little green will reduce the redness. Mr. jeff Jewitt had a nice article on finishing mahogany and "ageing" the piece. I was wondering if the reddish tone could be altered.As for putting bulap over Shania Twain, I don't know many men who would do such a thing under normal circumstances...neither that I heard anybody complaining that the colour of her hair is not her natural colour.Bernard B
". . . .neither that I heard anybody complaining that the colour of her hair is not her natural colour."
Touche.
"not her natural color"
Yes, but does the carpet match the drapes?
"... Yes, but does the carpet match the drapes?"
...how do you know there's any carpet?
:')
Bill Arnold - Custom Woodcrafting Click Here if you're interested in a good,inexpensive website host.
Food for Thought: The Ark was built by amateurs; the Titanic by professionals.
Oh my. Hadn't thought of that...
"Yes, but does the carpet match the drapes?"
I'll bet it does.
Bill GOT IT! I agree.. Make it out of pine and PAINT it what ever color (colour) ya' want!
My EDIT.. But then again! WHATEVER the Lady wants makes life sweeter!
Edited 4/19/2005 11:43 am ET by Will George
"... But then again! WHATEVER the Lady wants makes life sweeter!"
Yep! The customer may not always be right, but they're always the customer!
Bill Arnold - Custom Woodcrafting Click Here if you're interested in a good,inexpensive website host.
Food for Thought: The Ark was built by amateurs; the Titanic by professionals.
Greene & Greene treated their mahogany to get less red. I don't think there are many that would question them for altering sacred mahogany. Maybe this person just wants a mahogany color that is less red.
There are a lot of other great things about mahogany besides the color. Except for how its harvested. I'll miss it, my favorite furniture wood.
There is a good guide on how to do this in, believe it or not, the latest issue of Popular Woodworking. It involves using a process that duplicates what the Halls were doing for Greene & Greene.
First is a chemical treatment to oxidize, then a green stain to mellow the red.
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