Advice on refinishing veneered mahogany with a walnut finish

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Ronan James

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Hello Again,
I am hoping to refinish and recycle some veneered (I think its mahogany) mdf. There are also a few dinges and the odd screw hole to be addressed. These mdf panels were once part of a built in wardrobe and I am recycling them to become acoustic wall panels (see attached pic) in my recording studio. The panels need to match as closely as possible my grand piano which has a satin walnut finish. I am looking for advice on how best to re finish the veneered mdf. What I was thinking is to give the panels a light sand of 220 grit, clean well and apply a coat of Ronseal Interior Varnish satin walnut, light sanding, clean and apply another coat. See how they are looking and if another coat is required. Should the varnish be applied with a brush, foam pad yoke or a roller?
How should I address the dinges and the few holes in the veneer? Is filler the best option?

Thanks for any insights
regards
Ronan j
 

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I would be on the look out for some sapelle or some furniture that has a decent thickness of veneer although it looks like rather a large panel you want to make up.
Can you give us an idea of the size of the wall panel?
It doesn't appear like you have enough of that MDF to me, bearing in mind you would have to get a steam iron to remove some for the walls of the slots.
I think it might be close match if you look for some ribbon sapelle, I don't have a lot of it to say about that crown cut veneer would be a match, but I'd reckon probably the closest commercial timber that would be suitable.
Tom
 
First the easy parts
1 Dont use filler it will stand out like a massive pluke on a baby's face one the stain/dye is put on. Instead use a veneer cloud cutter to make the repair. how to make and use below





2 The way I make slots like that so that the panel can appear solid is to make the hole over size and insert a solid piece of wood with a grain matching as close as possible to the panel tht I can, if the panel is already veneered, if not then I do it before veneering the MDF and over the insert. Then you can route the slots to the correct size through the solid and stain once done.
 
I would be on the look out for some sapelle or some furniture that has a decent thickness of veneer although it looks like rather a large panel you want to make up.
Can you give us an idea of the size of the wall panel?
It doesn't appear like you have enough of that MDF to me, bearing in mind you would have to get a steam iron to remove some for the walls of the slots.
I think it might be close match if you look for some ribbon sapelle, I don't have a lot of it to say about that crown cut veneer would be a match, but I'd reckon probably the closest commercial timber that would be suitable.
Tom
Hi Tom, thanks for your reply. Apologies, I don't think I explained myself too well. I already have the panels made up and the full debth stop dados are routed out. What is left to do is fix the few imperfections on the surfaces and refinish the existing satin mahogany with a satin walnut finish. I hope that makes sense
 
I don't know what an acoustic panel is, so I doubt that I need one.

I really like the picture as wall art though.
 
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