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Finishing mahogany and walnut: depth before shine

Mahogany and walnut are the woods for French polishing: French Polish or Garnet Polish in shellac give them a warm depth no modern lacquer reproduces. A faded or mismatched piece is evened up first with a stain — Nitrostain Red Mahogany, Light Fast Stain English Walnut, dry in 10 to 15 minutes — then finished. For a soft lustre without a rubber, Wax Antique Mahogany or Wax Antique Brown; on a walnut floor, Hard Wax Oil Wenge; on a worktop, Pure Tung Oil in three coats 12 to 18 hours apart. Under a lacquer, walnut is grain-filled first.

Page updated September 2026 · by the Mylands France woodcare specialists

What to know

Two woods made for light and depth

Mahogany and walnut share what made their fortune in cabinetmaking: a close grain with fine pores, which takes a mirror polish, and colour in depth — warm red-brown for mahogany, purple-brown for walnut — that changes with the light. A transparent finish in thin layers, like shellac, lets light into the wood and out again: that is depth. A thick, cold film puts it out.

Three particulars decide the rest. They fade: mahogany pinks in the light, walnut pales towards grey-beige. They mismatch: a replaced door, a remade top are never quite the same tone; the stain pulls the pieces together. Walnut has pores to fill under a varnish or lacquer, as with oak. The preparation — stripping, sanding to at least 180 under shellac — is in Preparing woodwork.

Six pieces

Six ways to finish mahogany and walnut

1. The mahogany chest, French polished

A Georgian mahogany chest of drawers, brass handles, in a sitting room with dark walls. French Polish with a rubber, a warm medium brown, in three stages — bodying-in along the grain, bodying-up in circles with a drop of raw linseed oil, spiriting-off with methylated spirit — for the mirror shine. A warm, dry workshop.

Chest · French Polish Base · 2000 Pale Shellac Sealer Basecoat

2. The walnut desk, darker

A flat walnut desk, green leather top, in a library. Garnet Polish, the darkest shellac polish in the range, without the warm glow of Button Polish: its cold colour suits walnut you want sober. With a rubber or a brush, 2 to 5 coats; fine wire wool two days after for the antique look.

Desk · Garnet Polish

3. The faded mahogany table, revived

A mahogany table whose top has pinked in the sun, paler than the legs. Sanded to 180, degreased with Cellulose Thinners, it takes Nitrostain Red Mahogany with a cloth, quick strokes along the grain, a second pass where the wood is palest; then French Polish. The stain does not protect: the shellac does.

Stain · Nitrostain Red Mahogany Finish · French Polish

4. The walnut coffer, waxed

An old walnut coffer, mouldings worn, at the foot of a bed. Wax Antique Brown, a warm golden brown, applied sparingly with 0000 wire wool in small circles, left to haze, buffed along the grain; a second coat after 10 minutes. On mahogany, Wax Antique Mahogany, kept away from pale fabrics.

Walnut · Wax Antique Brown Mahogany · Wax Antique Mahogany

5. The walnut floor, oiled

A herringbone walnut floor in a hall. Hard Wax Oil Wenge deepens the brown and evens up the paler sapwood; two thin coats 24 hours apart over sanding to 120 to 150, walkable after 24 hours, hard in 7 to 10 days. Burnt Earth, redder, for a warm walnut.

Floor · Hard Wax Oil Wenge Warm version · Hard Wax Oil Burnt Earth

6. The walnut worktop, in oil

A kitchen island with a solid walnut top, sink and chopping boards. Pure Tung Oil, resistant to heat, water, alcohol and acids, in three coats 12 to 18 hours apart, the excess wiped off after 20 minutes; a maintenance coat every 3 to 6 months, as soon as water stops beading. The walnut stays matt and deep.

Worktop · Pure Tung Oil

The choice

Which piece, which product

From the show piece to the worktop, the same wood does not get the same finish: the pieces by use, with the product and the point to watch.

The piece	The product	Before	To watch
Antique mahogany furniture	French Polish	Sanding to at least 180; stain if needed	Coasters; no heat or alcohol; dry microfibre
Dark walnut furniture	Garnet Polish	Same; 2000 Pale Shellac Sealer as a base	A deliberately cool colour; Button Polish for more warmth
Faded or mismatched piece	Nitrostain Red Mahogany, Light Fast Stain English Walnut, then a finish	Sanding 80-120-150-180, degreasing with Cellulose Thinners	Test under the top; a stain does not protect
Everyday furniture	Wax Antique Mahogany, Wax Antique Brown	Wax and Polish Remover on old waxes	Thin coats; once or twice a year
Walnut floor, stairs	Hard Wax Oil Wenge, Burnt Earth	Sanding to 120 to 150, never finer	Excess wiped off at once; 24 hours without traffic
Worktop, kitchen table	Pure Tung Oil, Wood Finishing Oil	Bare wood, sanding to 180 at most, below 18% moisture	Wipe everything off after 20 minutes; cloths into water

Every mahogany stain: Mahogany stains. The rubber step by step: French polishing with shellac.

Evening up and deepening

The stain, before the finish

On a dark wood the stain does not change the colour: it brings it back where it has faded and evens it up between mismatched pieces. Four references do most of the work: Nitrostain Red Mahogany and Brown Mahogany for mahogany, red or brown according to the period; Light Fast Stain English Walnut and Nitrostain Walnut for walnut. All dry in 10 to 15 minutes, do not raise the grain and intermix.

The move: sanding 80-120-150-180, because a stain magnifies every scratch; degreasing with Cellulose Thinners; a test under the top; a lint-free cloth, quick continuous strokes along the grain, passes slightly overlapped; a second coat only where depth is missing. Then the finish: shellac, wax or lacquer — on Light Fast Stain, no water-based finish without a shellac isolation coat. Under a lacquer, fill the pores of walnut: cellulose grain filler, sanding to 220, 2 to 3 coats 3 to 4 hours apart. The four stain ranges: Choosing a wood stain.

Red mahogany · Nitrostain Red Mahogany Brown mahogany · Nitrostain Brown Mahogany Walnut · Light Fast Stain English Walnut Degreasing · Cellulose Thinners Grain filler · Cellulose Sanding Sealer

To avoid

What puts out a dark wood

Superfine White Polish on mahogany or walnut. Made for pale timbers, it leaves on a dark wood a cold veil and a softer film. French Polish, Button Polish or Garnet Polish.
Too much stain. A second coat everywhere, and the grain disappears under a flat brown: the stain evens up, it does not cover.
A hot cup or a glass on shellac. An immediate white ring; coasters always, Furniture Cleaner and Reviver for marks already made.
A damp workshop. Shellac blooms; warm and dry, without exception.
Wax Antique Mahogany next to a pale rug. It marks pale fabrics: on the feet, Wax Clear.
An aerosol polish. Silicones work in and rule out any repair; a dry microfibre cloth on shellac.

Frequently asked

Your questions, our answers

French Polish, Button Polish or Garnet Polish on mahogany?

French Polish, a warm medium brown, is the reference on mahogany, walnut and dark oak. Button Polish, slightly warmer, lightens a little; Garnet Polish, the darkest and coldest, for a wood you want sober. On a pale antique top, Special Pale Polish.

My mahogany has gone pink: how do I bring the colour back?

The light has faded the wood. The old finish off and the wood sanded to 180, Nitrostain Red Mahogany or Brown Mahogany with a cloth brings the colour back in 10 to 15 minutes; a second pass where the wood is palest. Then French Polish or a wax. Test under the top.

Can a walnut piece be oiled?

Yes, when you prefer a matt surface to the shine of a rubber: Wood Finishing Oil or Pure Tung Oil in three coats 12 to 18 hours apart, all excess wiped off after 20 minutes. Oiled walnut is darker and softer, and repairs locally. On a top that takes glasses, Pure Tung Oil resists alcohol.

Does walnut need grain filling?

Under a lacquer or a varnish, yes: cellulose grain filler then sanding to 220 for a glass-smooth film. Under a shellac polish with a rubber, bodying-in — the first passes along the grain — fills the pores; under an oil or a wax, they are left open.

Which wax on mahogany?

Wax Antique Mahogany, the restorers' formula for mahogany and warm timbers, bearing in mind that it marks pale fabrics. Wax Antique Brown, a golden brown, suits walnut and a browner mahogany. Clear wherever the piece touches a pale fabric.