Staining Mahogany

[ambrola]

I have stained the Mahogany case two times. The first time I didn't use pore filler and wasn't happy. This time I did, but it took so much stain it covered up the black bands in the wood. Anyone had this problem before? Here is a pic the first time but up close you could see in the wood. But you could see the black in the wood. Now I am on the 3rd time and the last. The top of my XVIII is like this case should be? And I did make the repair on the lid in the 2nd picture. I didn't even see it until it was too late

[martinola]

Hi Amberola,

Dark grain filler will darken-up everything. It's a real pain to get your color where you want it, smear a bunch of dark stuff over it, scrape off a lot of it, only to find that it's still darker than you wanted. (Usually, I also find that I've managed to pull out most of the filler in the process and have to fill in the pores with finish anyway.)

All sorts of things come into play - How it was prepped - What kind of stain - What kind of filler - What kind of finish - In what order things were applied, etc. The most difficult part of finishing wood is that it is a process of negotiating with the materials to push it into the area you want. A big help is to try the proposed finish out on a piece of similar wood. It can at least point you away from stains that are too strong or suggest what they can look like if they are diluted. Obviously, the advice is late, but might be useful in future.

If it's too dark, the only thing I can think of is to sand it back to wood, and start over. Try painting the bare wood with mineral spirits to check the intensity of the existing color. If it''s about a shade to 2 shades lighter than you want it, put on a thinned flash coat of shellac and when dry, do your grain filling with oil based walnut grain filler. Scrape it back and try to keep as much filler in the grain as you can. Then carefully sand with lots of 220 grit paper (on a block) leaving as much filler in the pores as possible but removing the dark stuff between. Often I find I'll have to use dilute aniline stain in shellac to coat over this if I've removed too much of the body color.

Forgive me I'm covering stuff you already know, but I'd really like round three to be a success.

Best Regards,
Martin

[JerryVan]

Your second attempt is probably closer to what I would consider the right color. However, why wouldn't you remove, or mask over, the crank hole bushing rather than covering it over with finish? Also, since you already had the finish removed, why not fix the veneer problem on the end of the lid? It's ultimately this attention to detail that makes a nice job. BTW, I don't mean for any of this to sound chastising.

[ambrola]

I did fix the lid veneer on the 2nd attempt which I don't have a picture of. I had to put so much stain on it, it covered the black bands in the mahogany. I never worry about those crank escutions, they come out really easy with a little heat. But I did take it out this time, have it stripped and ready for round 3. And I didn't take it that way Jerry. Everything you said is right. I may just be wanting something beyond my skills.

[JerryVan]

Cool. 3rd time will be a charm!

[ambrola]

I don't know. But I am going to try once more and if that don't look right, it's off to the pro's.

[ambrola]

Monday I fell off my 16ft trailer and really screwed my right hand up. Had to be rushed to the ER and get stiches in one of my fingers. But luckily, no broken bones. It has stopped me from working on this machine and I hate that. I am so close to being done. The Doctor said it would take a month before I would be straightened out. Here is where I am at on the Home. It has a repeater and a Steel O reproducer. Here is the finger that got cut on the trailer. My hand looks like a black baseball glove. :lol

[Mr Grumpy]

Thanks for the close-up, looks nice.

And the machine is coming along nicely as well, you're gettin er done!

[martinola]

Amberola,

I'm sorry to hear about your injury. It looks like they did a nice job sewing you back together. As regards your Home, it looks like #3 will be the charm. It's shaping up to be a real looker.

Regards,
Martin

[ambrola]

Thanks Martin and Mr. Grumpy. I think it will be fine this time. I just have to sand and spray lacquer until it is very shinny. I hope it don't set up while I am healing. Does anyone know how long it takes for lacquer to cure?