Darryl Keil Last Activity 2025-09-09 11:09 AM
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woodwrights

 
Subject : grain filler - crotch/burls
Posted : 2005-10-13 8:03 AM
Post #32476
Does anyone have preferences for grain filler, either commercial or homemade?


 
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Don Stephan

Posts: 825

Joined: 2003-07-18
Location: Cincinnati, Ohio

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Subject : Fillers
Posted : 2005-10-13 6:20 PM
Post #32477 - In reply to #32476
Oil based, there are a number of time tested fillers. Water based, I used a product called I think Crystalac from wwww.homesteadfinishing.com but it was several years ago.


 
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Darryl Keil

Posts: 1455

Joined: 2003-05-22
Location: Maine

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Subject : RE: grain filler - crotch/burls
Posted : 2005-10-13 7:56 PM
Post #32478 - In reply to #32476
Woodwrights,

Well, I don't mean to give a biased opinion but I will, I simply hate the stuff. They're completely a pain to apply. If you put them on the bare wood it stains it to some extent and getting it all wiped off the surface is a real drag. If you seal the wood first then it doesn't hold into the grain very well.

I will say I haven't used them in quite a few years so there may be some newer products that are much better, so don't take my rant as the only fact.

I just use a number of heavy coats of conversion varnish as a base coat sanding back down to the bare wood and let this be my filler. If it has to be absolutely perfect I apply a skim coat of epoxy, sand that back down to the bare wood and go from there.

Sincerely
Darryl Keil


 
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Eric

Posts: 15

Joined: 2005-02-16
Location: Long Beach Ca

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Subject : RE: grain filler - crotch/burls
Posted : 2005-10-13 10:29 PM
Post #32479 - In reply to #32478
Can the conversion varnish be used directly on oily evotics such as cocobolo?


 
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craig

 
Subject : RE: grain filler - crotch/burls
Posted : 2005-10-14 12:41 AM
Post #32480 - In reply to #32476
the best grain filler is the saw dust itself. mix with a little bit laquer, spread on and sand off. trying to match the grain filler to the species of wood you using is almost impossible. if you use a natural colored wood filler say in bubinga, you will see alot of white spots in the pores of the wood. if you are trying to get a full fill finish try a polyester finish. cost is double but the results are stunning.


 
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john sincerbeaux

 
Subject : RE: grain filler - crotch/burls
Posted : 2005-12-01 6:48 PM
Post #32595 - In reply to #32480
Craig,
can you elaborate a bit on using polyester. does it spray like lacquer? do you rub it out like lacquer and other finishes? I make jewelry boxes with marquetry tops and I like a perfect gloss finish. The problem I have is grain and gap filling. I use shellac and pumice and several coats of lacquer. but the lacquer always seems to settle in time revealing small imperfections. Also the process of finishing takes as long or longer than making the boxes themselves. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
John


 
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Darryl Keil

Posts: 1455

Joined: 2003-05-22
Location: Maine

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Subject : RE: grain filler - crotch/burls
Posted : 2005-12-04 7:19 PM
Post #32612 - In reply to #32595
John,

There are different kinds of polyester finishes but there are some that spray like lacquer, although somewhat thicker and require a pressure pot type sprayer. Polyester is a bit on the brittle side so it tends to be used as the base coat to grain fill with another type of finish on top.

I would never recommend lacquer to grain fill as it will always shrink back. I've had great success with a squeegee coat of epoxy and then sand back down to bare wood. The epoxy fills the pores and seals the veneer. Its a bit of work but the results are superb.

Sincerely
Darryl Keil


 
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Aaron Wax

Posts: 3

Joined: 2005-11-23
Location: NY

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Subject : RE: grain filler - crotch/burls
Posted : 2005-12-05 8:28 PM
Post #32617 - In reply to #32612
Curious,

If I use epoxy to fill the grain, can I then use shellac over the expoxy to give the veneer some color and warmth? Also, can you reccommend a certain type of epoxy?


 
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Darryl Keil

Posts: 1455

Joined: 2003-05-22
Location: Maine

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Subject : RE: grain filler - crotch/burls
Posted : 2005-12-05 8:56 PM
Post #32619 - In reply to #32617
Aaron,

You can definately use shellac over the epoxy coat. Remember, you are sanding the epoxy coat back down to bare wood.

West System, System 3, and MAS epoxy are all good ones for this purpose.

Sincerely
Darryl Keil


 
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john sincerbeaux

Posts: 6

Joined: 2005-12-02
Location: Flower mound, TX

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Subject : RE: grain filler - crotch/burls
Posted : 2005-12-06 1:29 AM
Post #32620 - In reply to #32619
Thank you Darryl,
I will try the epoxy technique. It sounds like that is exactly what I need to do. Shooting polyester sounds a bit intimidating to me because of the mixing(exact proportions), the sanding, and buffing. I spoke with Jeff Jewitt on the subject and he recommended I NOT spray Polyester with a nice gun. I have two nice guns to spray lacquer with so I definately would not want to ruin them. However, I do like the idea of a fast build you get with polyester even as a base coat.
Thank you very much for all the great info here. I can't believe I just discovered this forum.
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