"Aging" wood

[craigmarshall]

Hi,

I have a few boards of Mahogany from a big old window frame, and the boards aren't too bad, some holes here and there, but I should be able to get some usable wood out of them.

The thing is, I'm not really in love the raw pink of mahogany when it's unfinished. All the bits of mahogany I've seen are normally fairly bland as far as figure goes, but this can be made up for to a certain extent with interesting joinery, mouldings etc., but I think the piece might look better if I can artificially age it. (Or maybe not, feel free to talk me out of it). I'm not talking about beating the thing up with chains or over-sanding the edges, I don't want it to become a fake antique, I just to add a hint of darkness in the corners and mouldings etc. to deepen the shadows and make if feel slightly warmer and a bit lived in. I want to try and age it tastefully, in other words.

I have tried staining and oiling mahogany-related woods before with spirit based stains, but it's been a bit hit and miss, blotchy colour take-up, and then applying oil afterwards seems to take some of the colour back out, etc. So - what are the best techniques finishes to apply to achieve this? Or what am I doing wrong

Thanks,
Craig

[engineerone]

i agree that much modern mahogany can be boring. even after more than 25 years one of the things i made is still just "red".

in part what you want to make determines the way in which you can age, but you should maybe look at the processes used by interior designers when they "age " painted furniture.

i think it should be possible to use coloured wax in the places you mention to get a darker colour. i have used water based, or acrylic paints to add colour which i have then covered with varnish or polish.

paul

[craigmarshall]

Hi Paul,

I haven't really decided what I want to make yet, I was thinking another small bedside cabinet with drawers (this time for me), but I've not really decided yet. I was hoping for techniques or materials that could be generally applied to boring mahogany furniture everywhere ;D

I like the idea of arylic paints, I may cut a few test bits with internal corners and use some watered down paint in thin layers and see if I can't add some "dirt" :-)

I'd not thought about coloured wax, I'll see how I go with the paint route, and if not, I'll try that out.

Thanks,
Craig

PS - Should have said earlier:
What triggered my "aged" idea was seeing a nicely steam bent hybrid modern-traditional chair the other day in a customers home. It was made from a light hardwood that I didn't recognise (some kind of fruit wood?), it looked beautiful, and on very close inspection I noticed that it was brand new, and the "dirt" was some kind of pigment. It really did look the business, and it would have even without the colouring, if it were just freshly finished as a new piece - perfect hand made joinery. Anyway, just saying, I had a bit of a prejudice against "aged" stuff until the other day. Now I think I would like to try it - it looks good on good furniture if not over done.

[paulchapman]

Nov 5, 2008 22:41:57 GMT craigmarshall said:

I have tried staining and oiling mahogany-related woods before with spirit based stains, but it's been a bit hit and miss

Hi Craig,

Might be worth experimenting with water-based stains. You can go over them afterwards with a damp rag and lighten up parts, which might give you more of the effect you are after. I think they are a bit more flexible in use than spirit-based stains.

Cheers

Paul

[jake]

Fill the pores with dark filler, and then use a glaze for the aging, not a stain - much more controllable.

[craigmarshall]

Glaze, whassat then? Sounds like a pottery thingy I did at school.

Craig

[craigmarshall]

Might be worth experimenting with water-based stains. You can go over them afterwards with a damp rag and lighten up parts, which might give you more of the effect you are after. I think they are a bit more flexible in use than spirit-based stains.

I will keep that in mind, possibly give it a go after the paint idea (I have acrylic paint already).

Edit: Also - I had it in my head that spirit stains were superior somehow, but I have no idea where I got that from. It'd be good to try this theory out.

Cheers,
Craig

[jake]

It's a layer of translucent colour applied within the finish layers, rather than to the wood itself. So, apply a layer or two of finish, then mix some finish with some dark pigment and apply to the bits you want to be darker - the advantage being that you can wipe it off again where you don't want it, leaving the dark bits in the nooks and crannies, accentuating the mouldings etc much like the dirt, sorry patina, of an antique.

Technique stolen from one of the finishing books - I've used it only on floorboards, where I mix a bit of bitumen paint with Osmo to get a very dark finish which hides the typically coarse crown cut figuring of pine floorboards - any attempt to stain pine dark just makes it look awful because the latewood doesn't take the stain.

[colincott]

HI Craig

You can also use something like Vandyke, which is a water stain that you mix with hot water and is easy to use and make.

can you post a pic of the look you are after so I can help more
Plus if it is real mahogany you can also use Bichromate of potash to get it darker but this is harder to use and can turn it almost black if not carefull.

Spirit stain can be a real pain to use and can come up patchy like you have had, it is much easier to put it in the polish and use it that way to get your colour, this way it is much easier to control.