Timbermate - what am I missing

[Arron]

Everywhere I look I see praise heaped upon Timbermate. This is my experience with the product.
I use it to fill fine cracks in an object. I let it dry. Then I sand. About 25% seems to drop out of the cracks. I fill again. Sand again. Again, about 25% seems to come out. Of course now its 25% of 25% but still a bother. I fill again etc etc.
Am I doing something wrong ? Is there some trick I'm missing ? Do other people find the same thing and just not mention it ?

Arron

[Rod Gilbert]

How long are you letting it dry.
Regards Rod.

[Chesand]

If they are fine cracks, you might need to thin a small amount down with a little water to a paste consistency so that it goes in easier

[antiphile]

I've noticed occasionally a similar thing, but not quite to that extent. I stopped having most of the problems when I started removing some from the tub, then mixing it with a little water (using a putty knife) to make a paste a bit thicker than toothpaste consistency. Slightly dampen the timber area where you want it placed, and pack it in firmly using a wiping action with the putty knife. I still somehow manage to get trapped air in there sometimes, so if it happens you have to work out the air.

Leave it a bit longer than you think you should to fully set, and sand with maybe 180 or 240 grit gently.

I seem to get reasonable results that way. Of course if you're using it a a grain filler, you want a pretty sloppy mix.

[Arron]

I'll experiment with dampening the timber first. That I havent tried. It might help the bonding process, which I guess is what is not occuring.

I've tried varying the other things mentioned (consistency, drying time) but without much noticeable result.

I do know that if I sand gently I get a better result then when I give it a real good rogering with an ROS, but what good is a filler that you have to be deliberately gentle with - its only going to fall out sooner or later because it hasnt bonded.

cheers
Arron

[jimbur]

Have you cleaned fine dust out of the cracks? A vacuum cleaner can help with that.
Apart from that it's the consistency that seems to matter. If the cracks are fine use it thinner as suggested and wipe it in across the grain not with it.
Cheers,
Jim

[smallcrafter]

All very timely words of advice. I gave up on other fillers and finally bought Timbermate. I'll be trying it out on a small project this weekend and I'll post my experience with it then. I'm sure there's a learning curve!

[jimbur]

One thing, if you are matching for colour, I find that it tends to dry lighter than you might expect.
Cheers,
Jim

[antiphile]

Jimbur is absolutely spot on!

And it goes much much darker than you would expect under oil-type finishes like tung, danish, scandinavian etc. Very noticeably darker than the adjacent wood!

[smallcrafter]

I just tried Timbermate for the first time yesterday and I think it's the best filler available. I mixed mine on the thicker side and had no problems. Since I'm filling in some drill bit false starts and other screw-ups, I'll need a second application. I even found that I can force dry it with my small table-top space heater for a little while to start setting up (it's cold and raining here where I live) and then let it finish drying overnight. It dried and hardened no problem. My guess is that you may have it too wet. Also make sure you pack it into your fill space and, if necessary, when dry, give it another layer. Keep at it...it works!

[jimbur]

Jimbur is absolutely spot on!

And it goes much much darker than you would expect under oil-type finishes like tung, danish, scandinavian etc. Very noticeably darker than the adjacent wood!

I think we could do with a table showing which one suits which timber. I had to do a lot of filling of nail holes in an old baltic pine floor. Rimu gave me a near perfect match.
Cheers,
Jim