Mahogany stair treads

[Warrior]

Hi all,
I will be building some stairs with Afr. Mahogany. I tried to find the darkest stock (with African the darker the harder) and went to three suppliers in the area. I ended up with material that was not as dense as I had hoped.
Is there a finish that I could suggest to the client that would harden the material enough to be less susceptible to dents?

Thanks,
Eiji

 

[Mirko]

Eiji,

The finish I put on the helical stair in the Caribbean was Waterlox, brand finishhttps://www.waterlox.com/default.aspx
its a tung oil, and we used it on all the floors in that house. The species used was santos mahogany, and it was very dense.I recommend only using this type of Mahogany for treads or floors.

Mirko

 

[Warrior]

What about Sapele?

 

[Mirko]

My experiance with Sapele has been with Veneer, it seemed to be the same as Af. Mahogany as far as hardness, but then again it was a long time ago, so who knows :-\

 

[Warrior]

janka hardness= weight required for a .444" dia ball to create a divot or impression in the wood equal to half of its dia.

Afr. Mahogany = 800 - 1000
Red Oak= 1290
Sapele= 1500
Santos Mahogany= 2290

 

[Trevor H]

I would have to agree with Mirko on the waterlox.  Or go with a water based finish. Have you considered maybe a finish like Bona? They also make a Bona sport coat formula that is a little thicker or so gives the appearance of a denser finish. We use this a lot in restaraunts and places with severe foot traffic.

 

[Dave Ronyak]

I would have to agree with Mirko on the waterlox.  You definitely want a water based finish....

Trevor,

Isn't Waterlox Tung OIL based rather than water based?  Did you intend to write "water-resistant" finish?

Dave R,

 

[Trevor H]

Meant or use water, finger slips now now and then, thanks for the correction.

 

[woodshopdemos]

Lyptus will give youa more dense wood and still be able to be finished like mahog, Mirko's waterlox is a good choice.

 

[Jerry Work]

Be careful with Waterlox on resinous tropical hard woods.  If the wood is exposed to UV oil based finishes like Waterlox will cause the wood to darken considerably over time.  If you want Brazilian cherry (Jotaba) to look like blood wood just apply an oil finish and put the piece in sunlight coming through a window.  Wait a year and you have a dark red color instead of the nice teak color you thought you were after.  Same on any of the mahogany derivitives, African or other.  If you want to maintain the original color use a water based finish with a lot of UV inhibitor in it.  For your stair treads I would recommend either Target's polycarbonate urethane or Flecto's Diamond floor finish.  Both will wear well and keep the original color.

Jerry

 

[Warrior]

Jerry,
thanks for the heads up on the waterlox.

I have picked out the material. Quarter sawn Sipo. It looks like a cross between African and Sapele, and is very dense. Ill post some pics of the project.

Eiji