Oil-based wood pore filler

[moore.m]

Is there any of this that is transparent? Or is it all colored, or neutral-colored?

[Twayne]

It's all as you see in the store, the minwax site, moore's site, etc etc etc etc etc etc etc.

Go look.

[moore.m]

Well, I've been reading Flexner's finishing book and he seems to imply that the oil-based pore fillers you either color or put down in a neutral color. He does clearly say, however, that water-based pore fillers come in transparent. So I was just looking for some confirmation.

[dadiOH]

Confirmed. That transparent oil base filler exists. Heck, you can even make your own with some cabosil and varnish. The commercial generally has relatively little resin and is mostly thinned with naptha so it will dry rapidly.

[Larry Blanchard]

Don't know what cabosil is, but I seem to remember reading that you could make a good pore filler by mixing pumice or rottenstone with shellac.

[dadiOH]

That would fill but neither pumice or rottenstone are transparent. Lacquer works as a vehicle too. Cab-o-sil is fumed silica...it is

*extremely* fine and is often used as a thickener for epoxy or polyester resin. Same purpose in paints too IIRC.

[Lew Hodgett]

Cab-O-Sil, Aer-O-Sil, etc are powdered thickening agents primarially used with epoxy.

Small quantites are available thru anybody that sells epoxy resin.

A 1lb can will probably be good for a lifetime for the typical wood worker.

Lew

.

[B A R R Y]

Similar stuff is sold in r/c hobby shops (and online) in small quantities as "micro ballons".

[dadiOH]

They are made of phenolic resin. Resultant mix using them is red (dark).

[B A R R Y]

Mine are clear.

[J. Clarke]

Cab-o-sil and microballoons are different products serving different purposes. Manufacturers of microballoons suggest adding cabosil to control floatation of the balloons in low-density resins for example. Microballoons come in phenolic or glass.

In the given application I'd try cabosil and I'd try glass microballoons and see which worked better.

[dadiOH]

Cool :)

[Lew Hodgett]

Micro-balloons and Cab-O-Sil (Fumed Silica) are diffent products.

Fumed Silica is an isentropic thickener while micro-balloons are a filler of which there are at least two (2) types.

Phenolic (brown/purple) which are very light weight and very expensive and a more generic (white) which are very low cost.

Lew

[Nova]

Pumice is white but turns translucent (not completely transparent) when mix with shellac. It's used as a pore filler in "french polishing". I recommend "FFFF" pumice.

All the rottenstone I've seen if black in color. I don't think it would work.