Here's something that has be puzzled.

A couple of years ago, I bought about 45 sheets of nice mottled
mahogany veneer. I had a plan for it, but the project was put on hold,
so I stacked it neatly in a corner of my shop.

I pulled it out today to find something strange. The top piece has
darkened on its top side. The underside (and all of the rest of the
sheets) have darkened about 1 inch in from their edges (kinda like how
paper yellows around the edge on old books). So, I'm guessing that
some sort of reaction has taken place with the air. I know cherry
darkens over time, but I've never heard of mahogany doing this.

So now, I'm faced with what to do. I'd like to get these sheets all
uniform again. Oddly, I actually prefer the darkened color of the wood
that was exposed to air. So, if there's a way that I can quickly
"expose" the rest of the sheets sufficiently, that would be good.
Otherwise, I need a way of getting back to the original blond color.

Suggestions?

- Joe

Joe Emenaker wrote:
So, I'm guessing that
some sort of reaction has taken place with the air. I know cherry
darkens over time, but I've never heard of mahogany doing this.

Probably more light than air.

If you expose the sheets to sunlight, they should "catch up". A few
years ago, I built a mahogany table to hold a "wardian case" with plants
in side. The table top shows lighter strips where items prevented
sunlight from reaching the wood. Once exposed, the color matched right
up. Other stock that I have is much lighter when freshly cut than
exposed to light.

Joe Emenaker wrote:
Here's something that has be puzzled.

A couple of years ago, I bought about 45 sheets of nice mottled
mahogany veneer. I had a plan for it, but the project was put on
hold, so I stacked it neatly in a corner of my shop.

I pulled it out today to find something strange. The top piece has
darkened on its top side. The underside (and all of the rest of the
sheets) have darkened about 1 inch in from their edges (kinda like
how paper yellows around the edge on old books). So, I'm guessing
that some sort of reaction has taken place with the air. I know
cherry darkens over time, but I've never heard of mahogany doing
this.

So now, I'm faced with what to do. I'd like to get these sheets all
uniform again. Oddly, I actually prefer the darkened color of the
wood that was exposed to air. So, if there's a way that I can
quickly "expose" the rest of the sheets sufficiently, that would be
good. Otherwise, I need a way of getting back to the original blond
color.

It is light that changes the color. All woods change color; some
lighten, some darken. The only way to get the original color back is
to sand it off. No point in doing so, though...just make whatever it
is you plan to make and all will match in short order (a few
weeks/months).


--

dadiOH
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