Bruce Berman
Posts: 20
Joined: 2005-06-01
Location: Pittsburgh, Pa., USA
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Frank,
Let me give you a few comments on epoxy as a filler. WE have used epoxy as a filler when finishing panels of mixed woods with diffferent colors.
1. Many epoxies will have a color reaction with the fruitwoods like cherry and pear causing a deepening of the color of the wood that is significantly different from that of the finish on wood. So do a test panel with 1/2 filled with epoxy and one half without to see any finish variations.
2. Most epoxies are harder than the woods we work with. So with veneer this could be a little tricky. We made up a wide flexible squeegee that spreads the epoxy flat with the surface. Lubricate the squeegee with mineral spirits. You can then let the epoxy then level out with a minimal coverage.
3. When we did this the last time, which was a few years back, we found that the one of the "table top" epoxies sanded off really easily without filling the sand paper. It was not very hard at all but filled well. We could sand down to the wood very smoothly with out worrying too much about going through the veneer. It is definitly a lot of extra work but for an important multiwood surface that requires a smooth ungrained surface it works really well.
PS. Remember to sand down to the wood except for the pores. Lacquer adheres mechanically to epoxy so if you have wide surfaces of epoxy on the surface of you wood you can have long term adhesion problems with your final finish. The sanded epoxy provides for a good bond at first but can delaminate later. If you have a continuous epoxy layer One of the modern vinyl sealers, thinned down a bit, might make a good interface. Calling the epoxy manufacturers is surprisingly little help on the subject so usually you have to do your own research.
Good Luck
Bruce Berman
The Miracle Veneer Trimmer
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