Hi All,
I made several pieces of furniture, but only of close grain wood. Now I am making dresser of red oak, and I will need some sort of grain filler, because grain looks so rough. I went to Home Depot, but I couldn't find any, and people in Depot didn't know what I am talking about.
Can anybody give me any idea what company makes it, and brand name of any? And any instruction how to use it: before staining, or after staining?
Tanks, Casey.
Best stuff I've used on oak comes from Compliant Spray Systems. It's a Enduro product and dries clear, so as not to muck up the grain. Dries fast and goes a loooong way, so 1 QT is enough for many projects. It will probably dry out before you can use it all. :) Call them -- they are great people to deal with.
Casey:
Here's another suggestion:
I doubt that brand makes much difference as the standard filler is pretty much the same stuff. You may need to find a real finishing supply store, or a place that sells fine hardwoods for furniture. You can stain before, after or both before and after filling, use a contrasting stain with a contrasting color of filler, etc. Sounds like you need to read a book on finishing to get an idea of how to achieve the look you want or even to select a look. If all you want to do is fill the wood then use clear filler and no stain.
I like Behlens because it is plain color (nearly white) and I can mix in stain, test a piece, and get exactly the color I want. I live in the boonies and couldn't find any around here, even at the paint stores, so I finally sent off. Can't remember to who, but it warn't cheap.
Thanks guys,
I followed George Cafthon suggestion. I found in my neighborhood kitchen cabinet shop, and I went there to see if they would help me. I am 76 y old and I am making some furniture pieces as a hobby, so to spend $17 for grain filler just for one, or two pieces is a little too much for me.
Shop owner - seeing old man in need - decided to help me. He asked me if I have clear sanding sealer - and I have - so he gave me some powder with instruction to put first stain, after it dries, put one coat of sealer, after it dries, mix some this powder with sending sealer to make paste , and with rubber spatula - he gave me - fill all the grain. Leave it to dry over night, and next day sand it with 220 sandpaper, and put 2-3 coats of polyurethane.
Tanks, again everybody.
Casey.
In an earlier life I used to do quite a bit of antique furniture refinishing and used simple plaster of paris to fill the grain then go over it with raw linseed oil which renders it colorless .This works fine for a while and was used extensively in victorian times as a cheap filler for french polished pieces .
The problem with this technique is that over the years the oil leeches into the wood leaving the white plaster residue in the pores. To solve this problem is very difficult and due to it being at the very base of the finish complete stripping is required and thats a good start . Due to this problem most pieces are left as is, if the problem is mentioned then a knowlegible dealer will probably the piece just needs a "touchup " . I most cases it is easier to touchup his secretary than the piece of furniture.
As mentioned by Mr Moody I too have some of Behlens pore filler I think it is called porolac or similar . I have used it on pieces that I have french polished through the years. As I now shoot laquer finishes I am not sure of its effect on my final finishes as it contains linseed oil and generally laquer and any kind of oil do not live together very well .The result is a feature called "fisheye"
One other note coloring the filler with stain similar to the color of the stained wood is fine in my estimation but generally leaves the piece looking flat .many people like antique pieces because how they look .To get this look I use a black filler and stain a little lighter to compensate for the general darkening caused by the filler . The reason I use black filler is because the pores in old pieces are also filled with black filler , why black filler ? years and years of exposure to coal and wool smoke and dust and then being trapped by a fresh coat of wax every now and then ...mjh
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