Brazilian Rosewood Heresy 1's

[Tony Reed]

I'm in the process of restoring a pair of Brazilian Rosewood Hersey's. One has sat in the sun and is a shade or two lighter than the other. I just need to darken it a bit. Any advice on what stain might do the job?

Thanks,

Tony

[Budman]

i'm no expert but i don't think i would want to stain BR Heresys if they were mine. i've sanded and restored mahogany cornwalls and some walnut belles in the past and BLO ed them and they turned out beautiful.

i would contact Greg up in Maine for some advise and we all want some pics before and after

[Tony Reed]

I'm looking for a very light stain that could be put on and wiped off quickly just to darken a tiny amount.

Tony

[LarryC]

FYI, Heli001 also has had experience with wood finishing.

[tigerwoodKhorns]

If the veneer is thick enough, I think that you can just lightly sand each one with an orbital sander and apply a BLO or DEFT finish and they sholld match.

You need to sand them anyway to apply stain and you need to stai both to get them to match so you are not riskign anything.

Give em a good long gander after sanding and see if they look the same.

I just re-read your post, it lightened in the sun. I have sanded wod that has darkened (Mahogony) but not ligtened.

[Panacea Engineering]

Tony,

Are you sanding them back to the natural veneer? If you can try a sample on the bottom, Watco Natural might be the ticket. Or one of their darker colors, might work. I have been using the Watco for years on different applications and i have found that it works great and provides a superior finish, but it does take a considerable amount of very fine sanding, between coats, to achieve that.

[bluesboy]

Why do you want to stain rosewood? Just sand them down and apply a clear finish. The easist finish to apply I've found is Formby's tung oil. You just wipe it on with a rag.

[oldtimer]

The first step begins with identifying what the original finish is.

[greg928gts]

I would sand them, but even so that may not even them out completely. The suggestion to use Watco and the Watco with colorant added is a good one. I would go that direction if you need to darken one of them a bit.

Do everything you can to save the BR. I tried like heck on the Infinity speakers I'm restoring right now and I just couldn't save them. Makes me sick thinking about it.

Greg

[Tony Reed]

I'll try the sanding... Didn't really think of that.

Thanks,

Tony

[Gilbert]

Why do you want to stain rosewood? Just sand them down and apply a clear finish. The easist finish to apply I've found is Formby's tung oil. You just wipe it on with a rag.

Exactly correct!! DO NOT STAIN your brazilian rose wood speakers, that would be just plain dumb.

Sand them (starting with 180 grit, and working your way up to the really fine stuff, 600 grit was good enough for me, but others might suggest something even finer). You sand them down to remove the old finish (be it BLO or Laquer), and nothing more. DO NOT OVER SAND, the veneer is a very thin layer, so pay close attention to what your doing, and watch the edges closely, as these areas will be the first to show signs of over-sanding.

Then do as Blueboy recommends, and top if off with something like Forby's Tung Oil. BLO is good too, but the Tung oil will provide a highly durable finish, BLO won't.

I love Forbey's products, there's not alot out ther that's better than Formby's Tung Oil.

FWIW, I've re-finished more than my fair share of speakers, Cornwalls, Khorns, and Heresy's..... but there are others who are significantly more experienced than I, so don't just take my advise. Look for posts from Andy.... his forum name is HomeBldr or something like that. Good luck with the Heresy's and treat them like gold, those BR's are very difficult to come by.