How to clean water damaged mahogany

[AleCiotti]

Hi guys, unfortuantely due to small leaks of water coming in from portholes the mahogany has been damaged, is there a way to restore it?

i saw many people lightly sand it and then put teak oil on it..

What to do you think about that?

Thanks in advance!

[deblen]

Read up on bleaching/re-staining wood by Googling furniture restoration.
Be very cautious sanding.That layer if mahogany veneer is "micro" thin.

Cheers/Len

[coopec43]

Maybe this is appropriate?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=plzcsmdnZxU

[AleCiotti]

Originally Posted by coopec43

Maybe this is appropriate?

Thanks, i will check it out!

[Foswick]

I have a spot like this on the boat I just bought. I had assumed that I would just need to replace it. In my case, this is a fairly reasonable repair. I am able to see the backside of the area needing repair, so I can see that there isn't a second project hiding under the first project.

But, after some more consideration, I think I will end up sanding, filling/leveling with epoxy, sanding again, and painting. The surrounding walls are white, so it would not look out of place to paint this bit white, as well.

However, I will be watching this thread with interest. I don't believe that a good repair is possible that restores/preserves the appearance of the wood. I hope someone proves me wrong.

[s/v Jedi]

Originally Posted by AleCiotti

Hi guys, unfortuantely due to small leaks of water coming in from portholes the mahogany has been damaged, is there a way to restore it?

i saw many people lightly sand it and then put teak oil on it..

What to do you think about that?

Thanks in advance!

After removing the portlight, wile with denatured alcohol, then brush the dark spots with “teak cleaner” (not teak oil). You can repeat that a couple of times to get it to brighten up.

Now you will have the unaffected surface, some darker spots that don’t get lighter with the acid based cleaner, and some lighter spots. I often try to darken the lighter spots a bit. Before deciding, do a wipe with a wet sponge to see how it becomes after a new coat of varnish. I often use some black coffee to stain it a little (stains are too aggressively staining it). Ver light hand sanding with 320 grit may already require more staining. When ready to refinish, you can consider a first coat of diluted epoxy. I like penetrating epoxy from TotalBoat, which I thin 50% (!!) with denatured alcohol, then use a rag to rub it over the unfinished wood. When that cures, sand it back to bare wood, which is now rock hard, being reinforced with penetrated epoxy.
For the first coat of varnish, thin that 50% with the recommended thinner for the first coat or two. After that sand the whole surface and varnish as normal.