Preparing Mahogany Wood for Varnish

Remove Hardware

• If you're working with an older piece of wood, chances are it has some hardware that will need to be removed. By removing door handles, drawer pulls or other types of hardware, you'll be able to do a better job sanding the surface smooth. Carefully place the hardware to the side as you remove it; even if you don't want to use it again, it could come in handy when fitting new hardware.

Sanding

• Sanding and varnishing mahogany can be quite time-consuming; the wood's large pores will require lots of sanding to smooth out the surface. Start with a 120-grit sandpaper to achieve smoothness. Then move on to a 220-grit sandpaper, taking care to always sand with the grain of the wood.

Wood Putty

• Mahogany is a wood with relatively large "pores," so it's likely to have a few large holes that need filling with a wood putty. Carefully inspect the piece of wood for fillable holes, and then use a putty knife to apply a small amount of putty to the holes. Smooth out the surface with the edge of the putty knife, and allow the putty to dry.

Pore Filler

• You can further work on the open grain issue by applying a paste filler to the entire piece of mahogany. Take an old rag and apply the filler to the wood, rubbing it in and allowing it to dry. Then take a scraper or putty knife and lightly scrape the wood to remove the excess. When the filler has dried and you have wiped the surface down with a damp cloth, you are ready to move on to the varnishing.