Refinishing Mahogany: Method to Lighten Color Not Using Bleach

[JMaav]

I am refinishing the mahogany on my 1985 Super Sport 15 boat. Several of my mahogany parts have gotten so dark that even with bleaches and teak cleaners I am unable to get the color to lighten up.

Q1: what methods, other than using bleach, can lighten the wood color of darkened mahogany?

ASIDE: I have read probably every thread on restoring the mahogany, and I see little additional advice, other than sanding and using bleach.

[jimh]

Q1: what methods, other than using bleach, can lighten the wood color of darkened mahogany?

When the color of wood changes from exposure to weather, the use of bleach or other agents to alter the color is a chemical process. Since you report having used two chemical agents, bleach and teak cleaner, to alter the color of the darkened mahogany wood without success, approaching the problem those chemical agent may not be workable.

There might be other chemical agents that could work more successfully, but I would expect that if there were such agents they would already be on the market and would be actively marketed for the purpose of removing weathering on mahogany wood.

An alternative to changing the surface wood color is abrasion, which will remove the surface layer of the wood that has been darkened by exposure to weather. Abrasion as a method of restoring the original wood color can only work if the penetration of the weathering and darkening is limited to the surface layers. If the darkening has penetrated more deeply into the wood, removal of the dark layers may not be workable. Also, in some instances the mahogany lumber may only have a veneer layer of mahogany and lower layers may be of another wood species. This makes abrasion as a color restoration method likely to be unworkable.

Since you have kindly identified tbe boat (1985 SUPER SPORT 15) some of the wood may be actual thick mahogany planks. That wood would be suitable to finish restoration with abrasion, as, for example, the thwart seat bottoms are rather thick planks. But some of the wood such as the seat backs can cabinetry may be only a plywood with a mahogany veneer. A close examination of the original wood should give you insight.

If attaining an original, un-darkened mahogany surface finish is the goal, the solution may be to start over with new mahogany lumber and add your preferred surface finish coating to unspoiled wood.