Fine wood finishes

[drewpster]

The main bulkhead separating the cabin and cockpit area of my boat is finished wood. (stained) I was told the wood is mahogany. The cabin finish thankfully is still in good shape and will only need a good cleaning. The outside of the bulkhead, the door and trim however is losing its finish and will have to be redone.
Can someone tell me how to correctly identify the wood?
Is anyone familiar with techniques used in 1969 so I can match the color in the refinish outside more closely? Is it as simple as matching the stain and using UV protected poly?

 

[Laddies]

Re: Fine wood finishes

Lets start with with what is the brand of your boat. 90% or more of boats in that time frame came with mahogany because no one made a product that would stick to teak well. If it is mah. and is discolored then you will have to strip it and start over, if it is bad you will have to bleech it before sanding (remember it's just plywood so you can't sand it to deeply after select a stain (at a boat or lumber yard) I like a filler stain but they are harder to use and most people don't really know how to rub them properly. Once happy with the stain double seal it, only let it tack between coats, after the 2nd coat again let it tack and apply a coat of hy-build varnish, let it dry well and lite sand, I will ussaully use 3 coats of hy-built sanding between coats do not sand through as that will damage the stain, then finish with a couple of coats of varnish--Bob