Clear grain filler

[auscab]

Hi folks. Does anyone know of a clear (ie transparent) woodgrain filler. cheers
Arron

Hi Arron,
the guitar and ukulele builders are using epoxy, they spread across the grain with a credit card, let it go off,sand,then do a second application sand.
then start on their chosen finish.

you would want to do a search in the musical instrument section
MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS - Woodwork Forums
and you should find some interesting reading.
Rob

[Arron]

A recipe I read somewhere - not evern sure if they mean mineral or real turpentine.
one part spar varnish
two parts turpentine.
mix in sufficient powdered silica to make it a custard-like consistency.
Apply, wipe off across the grain and let dry before sanding.
Cheers,
Jim

Interesting Jim, but please if anyone decides to try this make sure you have industrial-strength dust extraction. Have a read about silicosis here Silicosis - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

cheers
Arron

[Arron]

The same stuff. It can be tinted with spirit stains. Last time I used it I gave it a soft pink hue.

I'm not sure why you want a clear grain filler. Normally a grain filler is used to either totally hide the grain so that you can build a glass like pianio finish, or to bring out the grain -- in which case the grain cfiller would normally be a little to a lot darker than the underlying wood.

Hi Ian, imagine you have a surface made of alternating 3 and 6mm strips of black and white veneer. Both veneer timbers are rather open-pored, and there are tiny gaps between (which I suppose shouldnt be there but they are). Use a black filler and it does a good job of the black, but gets into the pores of the white timber and looks terrible. Use a white filler and it gets in the pores of the black and looks pretty bad too. Use a neutral coloured filler and both just end up looking muddy, especially the white (silver ash or rock maple).

Larger gaps are not a problem, I just choose an adjacent colour and fill with Timbermate, masking off the contrasting timber so as not to allow contamination - so its the pores and really tiny gaps which are the problem.

However I"m thinking that a transparent filler should allow both timbers to keep their natural colour and the whole thing to keep the crisp/sharp look that I'm aiming for.

further:
using one of those solutions into which you sand the surface and allow the sanding dust/slurry to fill the pores is going to have the same effect of making one of the various surfaces muddy.

cheers
Arron

[Arron]

Hi Arron,
the guitar and ukulele builders are using epoxy, they spread across the grain with a credit card, let it go off,sand,then do a second application sand.
then start on their chosen finish.

you would want to do a search in the musical instrument section
MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS - Woodwork Forums
and you should find some interesting reading.
Rob

Interesting. My first thought when reading this is that it was a bad idea because I've used a lot of epoxy in boat building and I know its pretty hard to sand. However, if luthiers use it then maybe its worth a try because those guys are known for their delicate work.

I think epoxy might be better then casting resin which is polyester and didnt really work well because of the aforementioned filling the hills while filling the valleys thing.

I think the key will be to fill the valleys, then squeegy it off before it sets on the hills, to minimize the destructive effect of sanding very fine veneers. I have some Bote-coat marine epoxy left over from my last build. I wonder if that would do the job ? I'll definitely give it a try this weekend and let you know the result.

cheers
Arron

[jimbur]

Interesting Jim, but please if anyone decides to try this make sure you have industrial-strength dust extraction. Have a read about silicosis here Silicosis - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
cheers
Arron

Thanks Arron. I've edited my post to include your warning.
Cheers,
Jim

[mic-d]

If you could find a source of ground glass or glass microspheres, that would be safer than crystalline silica.

Cheers
Michael

[A Duke]

Hi there,
Feast Watson sanding sealer (interior clear sealer for open grain timber) claims to do what you want except it is not water based.
Regards

[ian]

Hi Ian, imagine you have a surface made of alternating 3 and 6mm strips of black and white veneer. Both veneer timbers are rather open-pored, and there are tiny gaps between (which I suppose shouldnt be there but they are). Use a black filler and it does a good job of the black, but gets into the pores of the white timber and looks terrible. Use a white filler and it gets in the pores of the black and looks pretty bad too. Use a neutral coloured filler and both just end up looking muddy, especially the white (silver ash or rock maple).

Larger gaps are not a problem, I just choose an adjacent colour and fill with Timbermate, masking off the contrasting timber so as not to allow contamination - so its the pores and really tiny gaps which are the problem.

However I"m thinking that a transparent filler should allow both timbers to keep their natural colour and the whole thing to keep the crisp/sharp look that I'm aiming for.

further:
using one of those solutions into which you sand the surface and allow the sanding dust/slurry to fill the pores is going to have the same effect of making one of the various surfaces muddy.

cheers
Arron

I suppose one option would be to seal the surface with blond shellac, then apply a couple of coats of thinned polyurathane as the pore filler.
After a few coats you shoul be able to cut the surface back to flat with a powered sander without cutting into the veneer

Though the idea of applying clear epoxy or gelcoat with a plastic scraper has appeal.

[Arron]

Though the idea of applying clear epoxy or gelcoat with a plastic scraper has appeal.

Doesnt it just. So why does everything to do with wood finishing have to sound like a trip back to the 18th century ??

Coat, recoat, sand, coat, sand, coat, sand, coat, sand, coat, sand .....