Clear grain filler

[Arron]

Hi folks. Does anyone know of a clear (ie transparent) woodgrain filler. Something like this would be perfect CrystaLac Wood Grain Filler, Wood Grain Filler, Wood Finishes, Wood Glues & Parts - McFeely's . I havent been able to find this in Aus. Any suggestions ?

I know a common suggestion is white shellac and talc, but I've tried it and its not suitable for my use.

cheers
Arron

[ian]

Have you tried Wattyl's wood grain filler?
It's rather messy to apply -- you apply it with a spatchular or squeezgy and rub off the excess (just before it dries) with a hessian rag -- but the one time I used it it worked a treat.

Google threw up this FILLING THE PORES OF WOOD

[Arron]

My recollection of that stuff is that its not clear but a muddy brown colour - or are we thinking of different things ?

cheers
Arron

[mic-d]

My recollection of that stuff is that its not clear but a muddy brown colour - or are we thinking of different things ?

cheers
Arron

I thought that too, that and it is now a discontinued line.

Just straight superblonde shellac would do. Apply several coats, rub back to bare where just the pores remain shiny, apply several more coats, rub back as before, repeat until the pores are filled and the sanding knocks the shine off everywhere. Slow but effective.

Cheers
Michael

[Arron]

Actually, Michael, thats what I'm trying to get away from. All that sanding. I know it might sound odd but there are things I would rather be doing then sanding.

And all those coats ! There has to be a better way. I would have thought that it would not be a difficult task for a talented chemist to come up with something which fills the pores in one coat, allows me to wipe off the excess, and carry on with life.

cheers
Arron

[mic-d]

Actually, Michael, thats what I'm trying to get away from. All that sanding. I know it might sound odd but there are things I would rather be doing then sanding.

And all those coats ! There has to be a better way. I would have thought that it would not be a difficult task for a talented chemist to come up with something which fills the pores in one coat, allows me to wipe off the excess, and carry on with life.

cheers
Arron

But fine woodwork is about taking your time and going on a journey with it. Fine woodwork is not about using a chemist so you can cheat in one step. Heaven forbid!

Cheers
Michael

[Arron]

But fine woodwork is about taking your time and going on a journey with it. Fine woodwork is not about using a chemist so you can cheat in one step. Heaven forbid!

Cheers
Michael

I'm not interested in fine woodworking - not right now anyway. I actually just want a clear grain filler and the quickest possible solution to a problem.

Cheers
Arron

[mic-d]

I'm not interested in fine woodworking - not right now anyway. I actually just want a clear grain filler and the quickest possible solution to a problem.

Cheers
Arron

Sorry Arron I forgot the winking smiley, it was tongue in cheek! The only thing I can think of to do what you want is casting resin (not that I'm recommending it) I wouldn't give up on shellac yet, try a 3lb cut and you could use a fine cabinet scraper rather than sanding.

Cheers
Michael

[Arron]

I tried casting resin, but found it very hard. To sand it off you need to go to power sanding on a fairly coarse grit, then work down through the papers. Too aggressive and too much risk of damage.

I also tried shellac with talc a lot. I found a couple of things that put me off. The main one is that shellac coats the interstacies (sp?) to the same depth as it does the pores. In other words it fills the hills just as it fills the valleys. This mean if you apply 10 coats you have 10 coats in the pores (which may fill the pores, if you are lucky) but you have 10 coats on the bits between the pores, and this is what you are required to sand away. If you contrast that to the Wattyl wood grain filler that Ian mentioned, it fills the pores with one swipe, then you wipe it off the interstacies with hessian. Then perhaps one very light sand to get any bits the hessian missed and you're done. Perfect, except its brown and I want clear.

A bit of an apology might be in order here. I feel a bit like I'm just posting problems for the opportunity to knock people's solutions down. Thats not true at all. I just feel there are solutions out there that I'm not getting to - though I know from past experience that the solution is always here somewhere in the collective wisdom of this forum.

I'm also baffled why there are several products of this nature (clear grain fillers) both available and widely used the US but I cant find any here.

Arron

[mic-d]

I tried casting resin, but found it very hard. To sand it off you need to go to power sanding on a fairly coarse grit, then work down through the papers. Too aggressive and too much risk of damage.

I also tried shellac with talc a lot. I found a couple of things that put me off. The main one is that shellac coats the interstacies (sp?) to the same depth as it does the pores. In other words it fills the hills just as it fills the valleys. This mean if you apply 10 coats you have 10 coats in the pores (which may fill the pores, if you are lucky) but you have 10 coats on the bits between the pores, and this is what you are required to sand away. If you contrast that to the Wattyl wood grain filler that Ian mentioned, it fills the pores with one swipe, then you wipe it off the interstacies with hessian. Then perhaps one very light sand to get any bits the hessian missed and you're done. Perfect, except its brown and I want clear.

A bit of an apology might be in order here. I feel a bit like I'm just posting problems for the opportunity to knock people's solutions down. Thats not true at all. I just feel there are solutions out there that I'm not getting to - though I know from past experience that the solution is always here somewhere in the collective wisdom of this forum.

I'm also baffled why there are several products of this nature (clear grain fillers) both available and widely used the US but I cant find any here.

Arron

I see what you're saying. Could you post a link to any of those clear fillers from the US, I didn't know such a beast existed. and I don't think any apology is needed...

Cheers
Michael

[Arron]

Well theres Crystallac which I mentioned above - CrystaLac Wood Grain Filler, Wood Grain Filler, Wood Finishes, Wood Glues & Parts - McFeely's

and also Target HSF5100 - HSF5100 Clear Grain Filler & Glaze, Water Based grain Filler, general Water Based Wood Finishes, Waterborne Finishes, Water Based Finishes

this photo says it all - see, no endless coating/sanding, just trowel on, scrape off, a light sand, then go fishing.

Arron

[ian]

My recollection of that stuff is that its not clear but a muddy brown colour - or are we thinking of different things ?

cheers
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.

[ian]

Arron, I'm currently restricted to communicating via an android tablet -- which means copying and pasting links is difficult.

However, if you google "recipe for timber grain filler" you should find a couple of suggestions on how to fill pores using danish oil or boiled linseed oil -- sanding as the oil thickens.

[mic-d]

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.

It's a moot point Ian, the Wattyl product is discontinued as I discovered last time I went to order it.
It is quite a valid choice to use a clear grain filler if you want to both achieve a glass-like finish and not hide or accentuate the grain. Luthiers do it all the time. I did it on my cutlery box where I needed a glass finish on a raked surface that caught the light but didn't want to alter the NGR colour. I achieved it by using shellac as a grain filler, but obviously arron want to pursue less labour intensive options.

Cheers
Michael

[jimbur]

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

WARNING - 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