Lost Art Press

Black Wax on Mahogany

Posted on by Lost Art Press

This week I’m finishing up a set of Roorkhee-style ottomans for a customer, and today I applied Liberon Black Bison Wax (dark oak shade) over the two coats of garnet shellac. 

This is one of my favorite finishes for campaign furniture. The garnet shellac warms up the mahogany; the dark wax fills in the pores and tints any pink left in the wood. 

My youngest daughter, Katherine Schwarz, is working for Lost Art Press this summer, doing a lot of photography and website maintenance. So I asked her to shoot this quick phone video to show the before and the after.

Katherine and I will make a few professional videos this summer, including the long-promised video on sharpening scrapers and a video on our Crucible Pinch Rods. The phone video above is not indicative of the quality she can produce (she’s in art school).

So stay tuned.

— Christopher Schwarz

33 thoughts on “Black Wax on Mahogany”

  1. Your scraper is definitely my favorite of all. Will be happy to see that video!

    1. It’s a type of shellac flakes
      To be dissolved in vodka
      See shellac.net or tools for working wood in Brooklyn websit

    2. Garnett is one of the darkest and least refined of the shellac flakes available. Amber is lighter and more orange, and blonde and super blonde are lighter still.

  3. Where is the video and
    Which is the before and after?
    Thanks michael

  4. Nice: shellac flakes, dissolved in vodka, squeeze of lime, bitters. Shake.

  5. Looking forward to more videos! Looking forward to in-person classes next year!

  6. That’s great! Now, if you could only get Megan to play the Vanna White part. Or better yet, let her do the demo and you be Vanna.

  7. Love the look. Does the Black Bison wax have toluene or whatever is in Briwax? I used to use colored Briwax but as i have gotten older the smell gives me headaches, nausea, eye irritation from the fumes, and if it gets on my skin causes allergic reactions.

    BTW, i love garnet shellac and keep some mixed up usually since I like to use on cherry and walnut(gives walnut just a little more depth of color)

  8. I really like the look I will be looking for the black wax…I have never see it at the hardware store. AMAZON maybe.

  9. Great to hear your daughter is helping out (always enjoy her videos and sticker designs). This is in the non-woodworking weeds, but if she’s working on web maintenance this summer, maybe it’s possible to adjust the blog’s display on mobile. I might be wrong, but I think it changed at some point this year? The right hand rail is appearing, and most text is very small when reading on a mobile device. Not a big deal, and the rest of the site looks great; just a suggestion (from a fellow art school grad and someone who works in WordPress) in case others are seeing the same.

      1. Looks great! Hopefully others agree, and find it helpful.

        Thanks for following up.

  10. Hey Chris, Thanks so much for the black wax demo. I am also interested in these Roorkhee-style ottomans. Is there any more info about them anywhere? Cheers

    1. I’m making these up, mixing traditional Roorkee elements with some structures used by Kaare Klint for his Safari ottomans. I’ll post photos and details when they are done!

  11. Looks really good. Do you put more than one coat of shellac, and do you lightly sand it before applying the wax?

  12. Any thoughts on an Anarchist’s Workbench build video? I’d buy it. Thanks.

  13. I am building a new mahogany tripod for one of my antique telescopes. I like the look of this finish but wonder about its toughness… any idea how well this finish would hold up over time to evening humidity? Telescopes can be dripping with dew by the end of an observing session. And is it going to rub off onto hands (and then onto eyepiece lenses)? If this is not the finish to use, what would you guys recommend? I am leaning toward several coats of thinned spar varnish, not shellac…

    1. Roorkees look better with scars and wear from the elements. This finish suits that approach.

      If you want it stay shiny and new looking with no maintenance, a conversion varnish is likely the best approach. But that requires spray equipment to do right. Next best solution is a true marine varnish with UV inhibitors. It is very expensive but brushable.

      Below that is a wipe-on polyurethane, but some people don’t like its plasticy appearance (some people love it).

      Next, for durability, is any alkyd varnish – spar or not. Spar doesn’t give a lot of additional protection in my experience. But you might as well use it.

      If you don’t mind maintenance, linseed oil and wax is a great looking finish and easy to apply. You just have to apply more when the finish starts to look dry and old.

      Anyway there are 1,000 ways to go. The above finishes are the ones I would consider and have personal experience with.

  14. Hey Chris, I still have nearly all that mahogany rescued from the furniture company that you and Rainey turned me on to. It will be fun to try this on some of that. Anther great ways to finish mahogany (especially for a door or a boat) is to first coat in thinned or penetrating epoxy and then a UV inhibiting finish like Permalac. The front door to my house in Manhattan was made with mahogany and has looked great for four straight years even though it faces the sun. Best, John

  15. The real question is where did you get the gloves? I have managed to go through my stock of them…

  16. Hi Chris,
    When you say it smells horrible, how long does the horrible smell linger after its applied?
    Thanks,
    Patrick

  17. Hey Chris,
    Something happened between the time of my first post below (4:47) and this one. The right side with the Instagram teasers and links is gone and the menu doesn’t work. I’m on an iPad. Hope this helps. Don’t shoot the messenger.
    Patrick

  18. I’ve used Liberon wax for years, usually neutral. It smells just as bad now as when I opened my very first can. Well done on the video Katherine.

Comments are closed.