Mahogany Grain Fill and Finishing Process Order

[CDuda]

Today, I placed my first order with Warmoth for a carved Les Paul body (mahogany on mahogany) and neck (mahogany with Brazilian rosewood).  I am going to be using Target Coatings finishing supplies (e.g. Oxford HSF High Solids Grain Filler & Glaze and Oxford Ultima Water-based Spray Lacquer).  I have two questions…

1) The Oxford HSF High Solids Grain Filler comes in three colors (clear, burnt umber, black).  Which color would work best with mahogany?
2) I am planning on finishing in the following order…fill the grain, seal (with amber shellac), and then clear coat.  With mahogany would this be the correct ordering of the steps?  As a bonus question any problems using shellac as the sealer or should I use diluted Oxford Ultima Water-based Spray Lacquer as the sealer)?

Many thanks in advance!  I can’t wait for the build to begin!

-Chris

 

[-CB-]

do you want an amber color?  amber shellac is VERY amber, unless you really cut it with alcohol (a lot).

you probably want clear filler, since you're going for a more or less clear finish (with some amber)

filler, sealer, topcoat  - works

 

[CDuda]

CB thanks for the reply!  I already have some red oak from a previous home improvement project.  Would this fill, seal, and top coat similar to mahogany?  These scraps would make for great test boards.

 

[-CB-]

no... red oak is much coarser... it would be similar to ash in that respect , not mahogany

 

[Tonar8352]

You have a couple of options so I would go grab some mahogany from the local wood supplier and try them to see which gives you the color you want. 

One way to retain  much of the original color of the wood is to do it with a wash coat of sealer first.  That is a really thinned out version of your sealer like 3 parts thinner to 1 sealer.  Spray it and then you can fill it with the filler color of your choice.  That way the color of the filler will only fill the open pours.

The other way is to do it the way you planned and see if you like the colors on your test board.  Burnt Umber tends to be a brownish color, which I think, would look good using the above method of sealing.