Finishes

[Simplyme]

I have a very Newbie(stupid) question. I just finished a project using Basswood and I finished it with a Mahagony finish, and love the way it looks. Now my question is this....If I was to carve something using an actual Mahogany piece, do I finish it with a mahogany finish or do I a use a clear finish? Since i'm using a mahogony piece I would assume that I do not need to use a a mahogany finish to get the same look since it is already mahogany. Am I making any sense here?

[CarverFromNoWhere]

Remember everyone was once a noob, The only stupid questions are those not asked. As for the finish it is personal choice, you will most likely have to do a spaot test untill you get the color you want.
Carl

[Claude]

I'd suggest doing the carving in whatever wood you like; when the carving part is finished, take some of the scraps and test your various finish ideas on the scraps. When you find a finish you like for that particular carving, then that's the one to use.

Claude

[Simplyme]

Thanks for you replies. But I might of stated the question wrong. I did a carving using Basswood stained finished to look like Mahagony, If I did the same carving in an actual mahagony piece am I to assume that I do not have to stain it with a mahagony finish because the wood is already mahagony?

[mdallensr]

I do more carving in mahogany than any other wood. I've been using oil finishes on just about all of them, either tung oil or Danish oil, followed by antique mahogany Bri-Wax. If you use a clear paste wax on mahogany, it will dry as white spots in the pores. Using a colored wax will improve the overall color of the wood and keep it true to its species. Mike

[AlArchie]

Any of the "natural" woods that are finished with a clear coat of any kind will not look like what you expect. Maple won't look like your best maple furniuture.......birch will look pretty plain....oak will have a gray appearance....cherry will be a dull brown. The trick is to find a stain that will bring out the highlights you want. Maybe you will be satisfied with a natural wood appearance....maybe not.

For a nice "mahogony" look on mahogony, Ive found that Minwax "Golden Oak" gives just the shades I want. If you check that sign I re-did up in the Off Topic area, you'll see what the golden oak did for that mahogony piece. Another Sign Restoration finished

Early American seems to give me the nice "maple" look I want. You'll have to play with a lot of differrnt shades in order to find exactly what you want.

A good place to start is the local paint store where you can find color charts that show generally what various stains will look like on diffewrent woods. Check these out before you go ahead with experimenting on a valued carving.

Al

[Claude]

Originally Posted by Simplyme

Thanks for you replies. But I might of stated the question wrong. I did a carving using Basswood stained finished to look like Mahagony, If I did the same carving in an actual mahagony piece am I to assume that I do not have to stain it with a mahagony finish because the wood is already mahagony?

You stated it correctly, and I understood (I think AlArchie did also). What we're trying to say is that it depends on a lot of factors. The coloring of the individual piece of wood is most important. Al and I both agree and suggest you try out several finishes to see what will happen. We don't know an exact answer because we don't have your particular piece of wood; and if either of us had it, we'd both still test out various stains/varnishes/waxes on scraps to see what it looks like before we tried to finish the actual carving.

For example, with stains, it depends on how light or dark the stain is, how long you leave it on the wood before wiping it off, whether the wood was sealed (and with what), etc. There are so many variables involved, all we can suggest is to try several things out on scrap and see if you like any of them.

Hopefully, I've explained better this time than I did before.

Claude

[squbrigg]

Actually that's a good question and the way you learn. There is a wealth of experience here within the group, so you did right.

Staining any wood will effect the finished look. I have stained Mahogany to darken it or part of it to highlight a particular part of the carving. Staining Basswood with a Mahogany colour will certainly add depth and increase the effect of the creases, corners and over all. Mahogany carvings can be finished with just a clear finish and achieves a beautiful effect, as the wood is dark and holds detail so well. You can lighten or darken the Mahogany using a variety of stains or bleach, to gain even more different effects.

Experiment, try different woods, and different stains on them. That way you will see for yourself, what sorts of effects you can achieve.

Bob

[Simplyme]

Thank you all for all your help. It looks like I will be experimenting with stains and finishes this weekend. I have purchased quite a few different stains, varnishes and finishing oils that I will probally be experimenting all weekend on different types of wood.

P.S. This would most likely get me kicked out of the house because the carving in the kitchen had the wifey a little upset(until I carved her a few pieces). Now this............wish me luck(with the wifey, not the experimenting,LOL).

[mark yundt]

I carve a ton of mahogany,,more than most any other wood as Mike does as well.
It will totally depend ,as everyone has said, what you want the piece to look like. Now most Mahog. today tends to look a bit pale,more like Phillipine instead of Honduras,,and so it needs help to look good and bring it to life. One combination I have been favoring is the first coat is Red Mahogany,,once dried coated with Dark Walnut. Straight red mahogany tends to look TOO red,,but the base values are good,,the dark walnut kills some of the harshness of the red and leaves it looking warm with the red-ISH tones still there. It also doesn't kill the golden highlights that you'll find in mahogany. I've tried so many combinations,,and many posted here look great as well. Like we've all said,,depends on what you want to see.