stain colours on mahogany

[edstraker123]

Hi Folks,

Just wondered if anybody could recommend stain colours that would work well on a mahogany body beneath an oil finish.

Photo's would be great if anybody has suggestions.

Ed.

 

[Geek99]

@Andyjr1515

[Andyjr1515]

 

 

1 hour ago, Geek99 said:

@Andyjr1515

 

 

Loads - but you have to love Cherry Red.  It compliments the deep colour of the mahogany rather than tries fighting with it:

 

 

 

 

This was done with red calligraphy ink and finished with Tru-oil

 

 

 

 

[Andyjr1515]

This is the same guitar with an added coat or two of Ronseal Hardglaze polyurethane varnish brushed on:

 

[edstraker123]

Thanks Andy the looks mint !

[edstraker123]

Would purple work do you think ?

[neepheid]

Get a scrap of mahogany and some dyes and see what works for you?  A lot of this "works" business is subjective and at the end of the day only you can say if it "worked" or not.

[Norris]

On 14/04/2024 at 14:50, edstraker123 said:

Would purple work do you think ?

Probably, but you might want to go a bit more towards the blue end of the spectrum to counter the basic red hues of mahogany if you can, and don't get too upset if it ends up brown

 

A test dye on a piece of scrap would be advisable if you can

[PaulThePlug]

On what shape, and how dark, and uniform is the Mog to start with?

I'm a 'light as possible' balance on getting what the wood has got v's darker as the wood is dark, and darker still to hide the miss match and blemishes...

Plus the post is an excuse to raise my praise to @Andyjr1515 again for this bit of Mog Work...

Edited April 15 by PaulThePlug

[Andyjr1515]

As @neepheid and  @Norris say, trying out the colour either on a piece of scrap mahogany or in the neck pocket of the body (assuming it's bolt-on) is the only way of knowing for certain, but personally I don't think purple does very well. 

 

Dampened, which all stains do, mahogany is quite a dark and richly tinted wood.  Ideally you want a stain that is either bright or complimentary to the wood's natural tint.  Purple is neither and is likely to darken the mahogany considerably.  As @Norris says, the different part of the spectrum of the purple to the oranges and reds of the timber can also make it brown.  But the only way of knowing for sure is to try it

 

Personally, I would be looking at reds, oranges, yellows - even greens sometimes work but that depends on the tone of the specific piece of wood.