Mahogany Wood Grain Finish

[BruceW]

Here is the process I used to match the original mahogany wood graining finish on and Edison Cygnet bell as the one I have is missing the matching elbow. 

Before I go any further I would like to thank Greg at Phono Decals and Gary at Shenandoah Antique Restoration.  Neither are taking on any more wood graining projects but both were generous enough to provide guidance and advice for my project 

 

1.  Started with a damaged beat up cygnet horn elbow 

2. Stripped remaining paint, pressed out the dents and sanded smooth

3.  Sprayed on a base coat closest to the original undercoat that I could find;  Rust-oleum  Nutmeg 

4.  Sprayed on a layer of Shellac (I had to protect the undercoat because the stain I used stripped off the first coat when I applied it to the elbow)

5.  Brushed on a thin layer of Mahogany (red colored) wiping stain. I chose this stain because I had it available on my shelf from previous projects.  I applied the stain with a $ 1 paint brush and pulled off the stain at the same time leaving a fine gain appearance like mahogany wood.

6.  Sprayed another layer of Shellac 

7.  Brushed on Brown Mahogany wiping stain to give the appearance of darker wood grained areas.

8.  Sprayed on Satin Lacquer ( I could have used a semi gloss finish as well but that was way was on my shelf)

9.  Applied a layer of Renascence Wax to match the finish of the original bell.

 

Although this process sounds complicated it actually was quite straightforward and the final result is very close to the original.   I am sure that is because duplicating Mahogany wood grain is a lot simpler than the artistic skill required to duplicate the faux wood graining for Oak horns.

 

Bruce