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Re: darkening wood
By:Bernie Farmer
Date: 4/23/1999, 2:37 pm
In Response To: darkening wood (Don Beale)

> I bought some mahogany for trim, and was told that a soultion of lye will
> cause it to darken. Has anybody done this, and was it compatible with
> epoxy? Alternatively, I could install the trim, and then sand it back to
> bare wood. Then, would stain or lye affect the cured epoxy around it?

Don, I'm uncertain why you want to darken the mahogany. Like most woods it will darken with age and obtain its natural patina. I've worked with it a lot on boats and after several months, it is very difficult to tell new wood from old wood based on coloration. Don't know about how lye or anything else would affect the bond with epoxy, but acidic solutions don't work well with mahogany in my experience. I've tried some brighteners before and they seem to eat too much into the softer sap wood and leave the other grain standing proud. I've never had much luck trying to brighten or clean mahogany with acids. Don't know if my rambling helped but good luck.

Messages In This Thread

darkening wood
Don Beale -- 4/23/1999, 1:22 pm
Re: darkening wood
Robert Woodard -- 4/23/1999, 7:04 pm
Re: darkening wood
Kenneth Paul -- 4/23/1999, 3:30 pm
Re: darkening wood
Bernie Farmer -- 4/23/1999, 2:37 pm