Yogi

Now let me get this right, what you're doing following basic stock prep is to start with a mahogany stain which you sand in to both fill the grain and achieve the beginning darker color you want - - and then you're moving on to Blood Red?

If so, then your stain has an oil base which permits both coloring and filling? Or, did I miss the correct instruction here?

For what its worth, Bethlen Solar-Lux also comes in a mahogany -B503 3A10 - which readily mixes with oil. Solar Lux products being dyes, penetrate better than stains. What brand of oil stain did you start with?

Regarding the tung oil subject, I'm pleased to hear this. For years and years I've been using little bottles of Formbys Tung Oil Finish for almost all of my oiling work. - So you think that the finish you're getting with your selected brand of tung oil compares well with that provided by Salopian's linseed oil based recipe?

Appreciate your comments.

For another "for-what-its-worth", Formbys and I suspect other tung oil brands have hardeners added to them just like proprietary linseeed oil based finishes. Formbys dries hard and is easy to apply. Its also comparatively cheap.