coloring Mahogany

patrick corry

patrick corry

solo canoeist
I've milled outwales for my Atkinson Traveler build in 'mahogany'.... who knows exactly what the wood is; probably Sapele. I tried wiping on a little varnish just to see some color, and I think I might like a bit more color before varnishing (once installed). I'm thinking it should be a little richer than with just the varnish. Do any of you folks have advice?

The upper piece in the first photo has the varnish wipe, the lower some random oil based darker stain- ignore it... it's too 'muddy'.
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In the last picture the rabbet seems rather deep, and it may be so, but I've left a little material there for hand planing a bevel where the material meets the rib tops. Overall dimension of the outwale as milled is 3/4" at the top by 15/16" tall. The outwales will be both tapered in height and thickness nearing the decks/stems.
 
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Gil Cramer said:
You might try sanding with linseed oil and 320 wet or dry sandpaper. It will fill the wood grain and darken the wood somewhat.
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Certainly worth a try. The final paint color is going to be burgundy so I don't necessarily want to make the outwales too red or they'll disappear!
 
That looks a lot like some "African" mahogany I once used, ie, light and somewhat open grain,
if so, be careful bending it, I got compression cracks in my pieces.
 
Every piece of African mahogany I tried to bend any more than a very shallow curve ended in failure. I hope you have better success.

Jim
 
Dan Lindberg said:
That looks a lot like some "African" mahogany I once used, ie, light and somewhat open grain,
if so, be careful bending it, I got compression cracks in my pieces.
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JClearwater said:
Every piece of African mahogany I tried to bend any more than a very shallow curve ended in failure. I hope you have better success.

Jim
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Have no fear fellas… all will go well (knocks wood!).

I tried Gil’s suggestion on a small piece and it has promise. I also read about using just the carrier (liquid) from a can of Minwax Puritan Pine stain. Opening the can without disturbing the settled pigments apparently yields just dye. I tried a bit of this with significant skepticism but am pleasantly surprised by the result.
 
I tried something else to have more control on staining. I took a color I liked (had used it on interior trim in my former house) and diluted it 3 to 1 with mineral spirits. After brushing it on a limited area, I waited one minute then wiped it off. For some areas that was enough, but others took 2 or 3 quick applications.
 
Try a very weak solution of lye (drain cleaner) in water and apply with a throw-away brush. Start with half a teaspoon of the lye in a liter of water and make some test applications on some scrap, you will be surprised by the color change. Don't use too strong a solution, the mahogany will get way too dark. The old lye trick works on mahogany and cherry, not so much on other species.
 
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