Grain filler for unusually colored wood?

Joseph Shaul

Member
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206
Location
Madison, WI
I've been learning a lot about woodworking, but one thing still has me very perplexed: How best to fill in the grain on unusually colored wood, like canarywood or bloodwood. I've tried using a mixture of glue and sawdust as a filler, and it didn't work very well at all. Can someone suggest a good technique for this?
 
Instead of glue, use Lacquer sealer and fine wood dust. in the areas that require special coloring, using the dust from the area you need to color.

You can also get a natural grain filler and use universal tints also.
 
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Instead of glue, use Lacquer sealer and fine wood dust. in the areas that require special coloring, using the dust from the area you need to color.

You can also get a natural grain filler and use universal tines also.

Like this stuff?

http://doitbest.com/Main.aspx?PageI...781206&utm_content=6790&utm_campaign=DATAFEED

I've heard that shellac is the best base coat for a lot of the exotic woods, mostly due to their high oil content. Do you think this would work with shellac as well? :huh:

Thanks for the help!
 
Joe shellac is best used on woods with a high tantic acid content.

I do not think I would touch any thing that has a short shelf life on line.
If you are going to work as a finisher, find a product you can work with consistently and stay with it. This way you learn the pro's and the con's of the product, and get a good comparable system from stripping to finishing. The worst thing that can happen in a shop is cross contamination. I will cause you to have ONE HECK OF A BAD HAIR DAY !LOL
 
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Never tried this myself, but.... Several years ago I read on a forum that this person used Plaster as wood filler (grain filler not patching putty)

It seems, according to the poster and verified by others, that after dry and sanded, the application of BLO would make the plaster transparent leaving closed pores, smooth surface, and matching color...

Might try practicing on a scrap piece. :thumb:
 
i am no where near as old as you are mr simpson but i have heard the same thing or read it somewhere, but i dont see it turning transparent...if you add water which is clear to it you get white mud, i dont see how BLO is gonna make it go clear..but if i recall they said that the filler took stain to make it appear to be gone.
 
QUOTE=larry merlau;198550]i am no where near as old as you are mr simpson but i have heard the same thing or read it somewhere, but i dont see it turning transparent...if you add water which is clear to it you get white mud, i dont see how BLO is gonna make it go clear..but if i recall they said that the filler took stain to make it appear to be gone.[/QUOTE]

Well thanks for the reassurance of the age differences...:rolleyes: I think...

Like you, I heard it on the Grapevine.... you know, everything you read on the internet, has to be true...:rofl:
That is why I said give it an experimental try on a scrap. Who knows :dunno:
 
The info about plaster of paris came from an article in Fine Woodworking mag and that article also mentioned 4f pumice as doing the same thing. I was going to try that but couldn't get pumice anywhere & didn't want to spend for a bag of plaster that I'd only use a couple of teaspoons of, so I tried some Durham's water putty sprinkled on dry & rubbed in w/ BLO & let it dry. I sanded it & sealed w/ Zinssers sanding sealer & then polyurethane to finish. I did this on oak because I wanted a smooth bar type finish on this piece & it did a beautiful job. (I just posted "Christmas in January" project in the flatwork area)
 
.... Several years ago I read on a forum that this person used Plaster as wood (Grain) filler.....according to the poster .....after dry and sanded, the application of BLO would make the plaster transparent leaving closed pores, smooth surface, and matching color...... :thumb:

Plaster has been used for a very long time before wood grain fillers were made commercially. Some disolved the plaster in water, some did it with oil. Either way, I cant see how the white plaster turns clear. It doesn't on wall board.
Anyway, if I were you, I would tint the plaster for proper color first, then apply. Not being you, I would buy a commercially available wood grain filler already colored the way I want it, or buy a clear and tint it your self. This is not an expensive chemical and is specially formulated for wood.
Apply your sealer first or the filler will also act as a stain on the raw wood. By filling after your sealer, the filler will fill the pores and the rest would sit on the surface and be sanded off.
 
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You need to remember , once you use an good heavy coat of oil on the plaster you can not use a lacquer over it, it will alligator. Painter like Michel Angelo used plaster oil and dry color pigments to paint. Ever heard of the Sistine Chapel
 
with the products out there today about the only time to use plaster and or sheet rock mud is on the floor. it works great as a filler that can be died/stained before or after putting it on the floor. I find it gets to brittle and over time becomes loose and will fall out when used as a grain filler on anything but the floor.
 
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