Finishes on mahogany - Finishing

RE: Finishes on mahogany

Rocknroller912 — Sat, 17 Apr 2021 20:20:50 +0000

@eddie6string

Danish oil is my favourite finish although the climate here can be too cold and damp most of the year. Definitely a job for outside working due to the aroma.

RE: Finishes on mahogany

Eddie6string — Sat, 17 Apr 2021 19:49:34 +0000

Not a typical finish, but I wanted to maintain the patena on this Honduran Mahogany Driftwood top - so three coats of Danish Oil was all it needed.

Just going through Set-Up prior to video & shipping to client.

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RE: Finishes on mahogany

Jonathan Hodgson — Sat, 17 Apr 2021 18:45:22 +0000

One of the most surprisingly (to me) effective colours I've seen on mahogany was when Ben Crowe dyed the back of his cyberpunk guitar black. With an oil finish, the best way I can put it is it came out looking like a much more expensive piece of wood.

RE: Finishes on mahogany

Rocknroller912 — Fri, 16 Apr 2021 13:59:03 +0000

@tej

Here is an example of how an oiled finish can darken mahogany. The first photo is before oiling in 2003 and the second one is from 2015 and shows no deterioration in the finish despite being kept on display next to a sunny window.
Golden yellow over mid brown gives an old vintage brown colour like antique furniture.

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RE: Finishes on mahogany

Rocknroller912 — Fri, 16 Apr 2021 13:40:18 +0000

@tej

Oil finishes are hard wearing and easy to touch up if you need. Another advantage is they don’t chip or spread if you do get a knock. Just rub out the dent and apply more oil. I did an oil finish on a mahogany trophy base in 2003 and it’s still good. I’ve got some photos on my Facebook page as was when made, then recently. Will post them for demonstration although it’s obviously not a guitar.

RE: Finishes on mahogany

tv1 — Fri, 16 Apr 2021 13:11:32 +0000

Looks like this is out of stock atm, but how about something like this ...

https://www.crimsonguitars.com/collections/guitar-finishing/products/grain-enhancing-filler?variant=32379735310471

With a red, or clear, finish over the top?

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I used to use Andy's stuff on all of my builds, but it can be tricky to get it just right, so I've tried various other options more recently. However, with a dark mahogany as the base, it's never going to stain light.

RE: Finishes on mahogany

Tej — Fri, 16 Apr 2021 13:03:35 +0000

@rocknroller912

Thats what I was presuming with the “dull” look, it’s hard to tell what anything will look like without testing. I think there was a finishing oil someone mentioned that was used but also said not to the put any kind of lacquer on it, any ideas how a purely oiled finish would wear? Would it need reapplying etc?
I’m getting way ahead of myself here but want to test finishes on off cuts once the blanks arrive. So many questions 🙂

RE: Finishes on mahogany

Rocknroller912 — Fri, 16 Apr 2021 12:13:19 +0000

@tej

I think colour options while still seeing the grain will be very limited due to starting with a dark base of mahogany. Also depends what shade of brown your mahogany is. Brown isn’t a primary colour so adding red, green or blue will make it darker and it could end up very muddy looking. @boo is the paint expert.

Finishes on mahogany

Tej — Fri, 16 Apr 2021 09:54:32 +0000

I’ve used a finish (hot auburn) from www.wudtone.com in the past on a basswood body kit guitar, the one in my profile pic. Absolutely love the finish I got but I’m wondering what results I’d get from this kind of approach with darker mahogany, hard to know if I’d just end up with a dull looking finish if I tried to add colour. Obviously I could stick to woody colours but would be interested what people have used to add colour mahogany. To be clear I’d still want to see the grain here so not at all interested in paint!!