Antique Light Mahogany Finish Proceses.

In this article, we want to share about the finishing process to make an antique light mahogany finish. It has a light mahogany finish with some gold accents at some places as a highlight and eye-catching. The stuff we finished was a light holder made from mahogany wood that was carved in the form of a mixed fruit ornament.

Here are the finishing processes, step by step.

 the antique light mahogany gold finish

  1. Application of stain.

We wanted to make a light color, so a light stain was used. A light brown dye stain was sprayed evenly to the surface. Then we let it sit for about 2 minutes to allow the stain to dry. We do some highlights to the stain with steel wool to enhance the carved form of the ornament.

 the stain application

2. Wash coat application.

The wash coat was layered to protect the stain before glaze application. We used a vinyl wash coat to coat and seal the stain. The vinyl wash coat was sprayed to coat the overall surface evenly. We waited for the wash coat layer for about 15 minutes to let it dry. Then we sanded the wash coat layer with scotch brite.

 sanding the wash coat with scotch brite

3. Glaze application.

The glaze was applied to fill in and color inside the grain, pores, crevices, and inside parts of the carving. We used Van Dyke brown glaze to make the dark effects in the inside parts. Glaze was applied by brushed to the entire surface, then wiped clean with a rag.  We let the glaze dry for about 60 minutes. We did some highlights to add the life look of the carving and ornamental. About how to apply the glaze, you may go to our previous article: glaze application.

 the glaze application

4.1^st Sealer application.

After the glaze dried, the next process was the sealer application. We used NC sealer to coat the glaze layer. The sealer was sprayed to the overall surface to make a wet coat layer. Then we let the sealer layer sit for about 30 minutes to let it dry. After the sealer layer was dry, we continued the process by sanding the sealer layer to make a smooth surface. 

5. Gold leaf application.

In this finish, we added gold accents at some places to highlight the finishing appearance. The gold was not applied to cover the entire surface, but only at some parts as a highlight. A small brush was used to apply the glue for the gold leaf (gold leaf sizing). The glue was applied at some parts as the highlight. We waited for about 15 minutes to let the glue dry. Then we attached the gold leaf to the glued parts. 
About how to apply the gold leaf, you can go to our previous article: gold leaf application.  

 the gold leaf application

6. 2^nd sealer application.

After the gold leaf was stuck well, we coated it with the sealer layer to bind and protect the gold leaf. The NC sealer was sprayed evenly to the entire surface and was let for about 30 minutes to let the sealer layer dry. Then we did sanding to the sealer with scotch brite as we did for the first sealer to make smooth surface

6. Dry brush glaze.

We applied the second glaze to add more life and an antique look to the finishing. The glaze used was the same glaze as the first glaze and applied in a similar way. Glaze was brushed evenly over the entire surface, but then we highlighted to enhance the finishing look and generate more life impressions for the finish. 

 the antique light gold mahogany finish

7. Top coat application.

The top coat is the last finishing layer. The top coat serves to give protection for the finishing underneath and to build the gloss of the finishing. We used NC top coat with medium gloss (45 sheen) for this finish. 45-sheen NC top coat was sprayed to coat the entire surface. We let the top coat layer dry for about 45 minutes. And since we still got a rough finish surface, then we sanded the top coat layer and applied one layer or top coat as the final layer.
The result was an antic mahogany finish, with light color highlighted with some gold color in some parts.