I found a nice live edge, black walnut slab that I want to use for a headboard. Size is approximately 20 x 65″ and 2″ thick. It has a couple cracks plus some bark inclusions. Cracks are maybe 1/4″ by 3″ and bark inclusions are a bit bigger. There is one void that is the size of a quarter and 3/4″ deep.
I have thought about filling the cracks and bark inclusions with resin tinted black. I’ve done this before with other species and it seems that there is always a “shadow” of black around the cracks since the resin touches some of the surrounding wood surface and fills the pores. I don’t want to have to sand for hours to remove this.
What would you recommend? Pre-finish the surface around the cracks prior to applying resin? If so, what finish should I use? I was planning to spray it with lacquer as the final finish.
Another option is to skip the resin entirely. The slab will hang on the wall so the character spots should not cause any problems.
Thanks for any advice plus alerting me to “keep this in mind” things.
Replies
Try Stabilizing all the voids with crazy glue then using slow curing epoxy for fill. If the void is deep, fill it in stages.
Agreed. Your 'shadow' is colorant soaking into the surrounding material. Seal that prior to filling and you should have no bleed.
What about spiders in the cracks?? They may bite you at night? LOL
Medium viscosity epoxy mixed with carbon black powder. Tape around the cracks and fill until it bleeds over the tape, remove the masking tape when the epoxy starts to set, makes sanding easier and even.
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