with a coat of Petit dark mahogany filler stain. That serves three purposes. First it fills the porosity in the mahogany. Second the stain will greatly delay sun yellowing of the mahogany. Finally, the dark stain makes the different pieces of mahogany the same color. Afte the stain, all the wood will receive 8-10 coats of Epiphanes gloss varnish.

As far as wood work is concerned, I am hardly an expert. I do have a good idea of how to go about doing this project, but ther are several guys in the shop who have been doing boat carpentry for 30+ years who are only too willing to point out my errors . The final test though is getting my work past the boss - Henry R. Hinckley III