natemoore
Master Chief Petty Officer
- Joined
- Jun 13, 2009
- Messages
- 844
I recently replaced my old, ugly gauges and dashboard with NOS medallion gauges and mahogany wood. What a difference it makes.
The steps to making the mahogany very glossy, after achieving the right shape, are to finish sand, fill the grain, sand again, spray a coat of conversion varnish sealer, scuff sand, apply another coat, scuff sand, the apply another coat. You want a thick film because in the next step, you'll sand a lot of it off.
Using 400 grit wet/dry sandpaper and naptha as a lubricant, wet sand out any remaining grain marks. I noticed that the sanding residue started to fill the small grain pores and compressed air wouldn't get it out, nor would a clean cloth wetted with naptha. So, I mixed up some medium brown aniline dye and denatured alcohol and stained it. The color came out really nice. If you want it darker, just keep applying the dye/alcohol mixture.
I still wasn't satisfied with the smoothness, so I applied one more coat of conversion varnish sealer, wet sanded, applied dye, then began top coating with gloss conversion varnish. I sprayed on a total of three coats, scuff sanding with a 320 sponge between each coat.
The final coat was as slick as glass shortly after is cured (30 minutes), but after sitting overnight, I noticed a little bit of the grain texture showing. Guess I got in a hurry to get it done. If I wanted to, I could have wet sanded the finish again and applied another coat, but I'm happy with this. It is a 27 year old boat after all.
The steps to making the mahogany very glossy, after achieving the right shape, are to finish sand, fill the grain, sand again, spray a coat of conversion varnish sealer, scuff sand, apply another coat, scuff sand, the apply another coat. You want a thick film because in the next step, you'll sand a lot of it off.
Using 400 grit wet/dry sandpaper and naptha as a lubricant, wet sand out any remaining grain marks. I noticed that the sanding residue started to fill the small grain pores and compressed air wouldn't get it out, nor would a clean cloth wetted with naptha. So, I mixed up some medium brown aniline dye and denatured alcohol and stained it. The color came out really nice. If you want it darker, just keep applying the dye/alcohol mixture.
I still wasn't satisfied with the smoothness, so I applied one more coat of conversion varnish sealer, wet sanded, applied dye, then began top coating with gloss conversion varnish. I sprayed on a total of three coats, scuff sanding with a 320 sponge between each coat.
The final coat was as slick as glass shortly after is cured (30 minutes), but after sitting overnight, I noticed a little bit of the grain texture showing. Guess I got in a hurry to get it done. If I wanted to, I could have wet sanded the finish again and applied another coat, but I'm happy with this. It is a 27 year old boat after all.