Replies

1. 
   SgianDubh | May 16, 2003 04:13am | #1

   Andrew, you can check after glue up and clean up to see if you've done a good job of removing the glue by wiping with paint thinners-- UK term, aka, white spirit, another Brit'ism, known in the US as mineral spirits.

   Now that you've got the problem, and the stain or dye is on, I can't think of a really easy way to fix it. For instance, you might be able to live with some of the light spots if they're rather out of sight-- I'm assuming the light spots are near corners of joinery, e.g., a stretcher or a rail into a leg, or something like that?

   In the past, I've spot scraped off, resanded, and restained or dyed. Let's say your problem is the top edge of a stretcher in both corners where they join the leg. I've applied one coat of polish to both sides of the stretcher and scraped the top edge, and restained/dyed just on that top edge with slightly weaker dye/stain, and gone on to polish it, followed by completing the polishing all over. Maybe this might help. Hard to say without seeing it. Slainte.

   Website                                   The poster formerly known as Sgian Dubh.

2. 
   Kevin | May 16, 2003 06:51am | #2

   Here are three solutions I've seen and used:

   1. Twenty years ago I worked in a furniture factory that had their glue tinted a raw umber color. It was very easy to spot when it was dry. The kicker was that it was dark brown already so it wasn't very noticable under the stain even if it had been missed for whatever reason. With a standard water-based wood glue, any water-based colorant should work.

   2. A high-end fixture shop that made lockers for ritzy country clubs that I worked at about 15 years ago had another solution. They added a fluorescing agent to their glue that would glow under a blacklight. Part of their final prep before sending stuff into the paintshop was pass a hand-held 2 foot long blacklight tube fixture over the parts. If there was any glue within the range of the blacklight it would glow, even under the shop lights.

   3. A third solution, which is really a variation on the first one, that I brought into a later furniture factory that I worked in was to have our glue custom tinted to our one stain color. Most of the furniture made there was intended for the unfinished furniture market and we only had one stock stain color - Watco's Golden Oak. I had our glue supplier custom tint our glue to match it and I swear to you that it was a dead on perfect match. You could run your hand over the glue and feel it... but you couldn't see it unless you really examined the area closely. It was truly amazing!

   As for fixing the existing glue spots on your project... much depends on what stage of finish you are at. Here's what I would do in my paint shop: I maintain a collection of colored art pencils (quality ones are best!) and I use them like a graining pencil. First of all... the glue spots become obvious after the stain is wiped or sprayed on. But stain doesn't accept the graining pencils very well so I let it be and go ahead and seal the surface. After it has dried and I have scuff sanded it for topcoat, I select a matching pencil or two and manually color in the problem area. Then I topcoat over it and if it's done right nobody will ever be the wiser except for you 'cause you'll know where you did it at. I use this same exact technique to fix sand-thrus on veneers. Somewhere in the new Mormon visitors center in Salt Lake City is a cherry veneer panel that had a silver dollar sized burnthru that I would defy anyone to find. Heck, I would have a hard time finding it. And I fixed it with nothing more than the above mentioned technique coupled with a few years of experience using it. The neat thing about the pencils is that if you mess up you can always rub off what you've done and start over. In fact I will lightly rub the pencil work to help blend it in too. The key to making them work, though, is that there can't be voids or lumps in the repair area. I would pay particular attention to the sealer and sanding steps in that area to ensure a nice smooth surface is achieved before I bring out my pencils.

   A master journeyman finish carpenter told me once that the main difference between a journeyman and an apprentice is that the journeyman knows how to hide his mistakes. There's a great deal of truth to that.

   Regards,

   Kevin

1. 
   Steinmetz | May 16, 2003 10:39pm | #3

   KEV, I had to laugh at your cover up solutions and comparison of journeyman and apprentice.  I once worked on a law office construction where the raised paneling and moldings were pre lacqured to a matte finish. One 'Old Hand' who I presumed to have had a sweet tooth ,was coping and fitting the beautiful crown moulding along the ten foot high ceiling. After setting all the nails, he ,saw no one but me watching, pulled out from his overall pocket a Hershey Bar,and proceeded to fill all the voids while enjoying a snack all the while. ED

2. 
   JerseyJohn | May 20, 2003 05:30pm | #4

   Kevin,  Your post comment

   ""A high-end fixture shop that made lockers for ritzy country clubs that I worked at about 15 years ago had another solution. They added a fluorescing agent to their glue that would glow under a blacklight. Part of their final prep before sending stuff into the paintshop was pass a hand-held 2 foot long blacklight tube fixture over the parts. If there was any glue within the range of the blacklight it would glow, even under the shop lights.""

   Brought back the memory of a funny / humorous, yet tragic situation a few years ago.

   One of my clients got all excited over a glue additive that showed where glue was on the surface.  Similar in fashion to your blacklight, but different technology.  Well, after designing,  building, delivery and installing a complete custom built conference room worth about 180,000US, it turns out that the lighting in the room, a flourescent type, made every pinpoint, line and joint glow during normal everyday use. 

   Needless to say, that was the one and only time he used that additive

   Regards,

   John Ersing

   Veneer Systems

1. 
   Kevin | May 20, 2003 11:05pm | #5

   John,

   Tell me more about this glue additive. Is it still available? How does it work? I'm intrigued! LOL

3. 
   Kevin | May 23, 2003 07:19am | #6

   I dunno why it didn't occur to me earlier... but, while I was looking at Forestgirl's stain samples and pondering why the one sanded with the 320 appears to have stained darker... I remembered another trick that I've used on occasion to deal with glue spots as well as a missed scratch in the wood or stray pencil mark, etc. I'd wet sand the problem spot using the same stain and anywhere from a 180 to a 320 grit sandpaper.. but usually I use 220. If the stain is a pigmented type and the stained wood has already dried, it can be tougher blending in the repair. I've found that altering the pressure I apply to the wet sandpaper works well, though. I keep a wiping rag handy to wipe off the excess stain and, like with the sandpaper, use varying pressure to blend in the repair. If you've wash coated the wood prior to staining then this fix doesn't work as well because the sanding burns thru the wash coat. It's a very situational thing, though. Much depends on the severity of the problem, the species of wood being finished and the color and darkness of the stain.

   Also... I forget who first posted the suggestion about wiping the wood down with mineral spirits or naptha to reveal glue spots... but, I'd never heard of that one before. I tried it today on a piece of figured Ash I had laying around and it works fantastically! Great suggestion!

   Regards,

   Kevin

4. 
   SawdustRay | May 24, 2003 01:11am | #7

   This won't help you now but...

   I tape the edges of all my joints with painters tape.  Stay away from a strong adhering tape because that can leave a residue behind that's just as difficult to deal with as the glue.  It take longer prep time - and it's not fool proof - but it cuts back on about 90% of glue run-out.  I've heard of other people using a wet rag to wipe the glue away but I've found that to seal the wood myself - didn't solve the problem.

5. 
   Manchild | May 25, 2003 03:40pm | #8

   Some of the catalogs sell blacklight glue. I can't remember which, though. There out there.

6. 
   IronDog | May 25, 2003 04:27pm | #9

   This is a really good thread.

   I'm enjoying learning all the various tricks.

   Another tack altogether is to finish your parts first and then do the

   glue up.

   Of course you have to be careful that you don't put finish on an area that will

   need glue but besides that it works well. You don't have the problem of working stain or finish into tight corners or having to chase down glue spots in those same difficult to get at places.

   With the finish on, any glue that comes out of a joint is easily spotted and just pops right off the wood. Best to let it set up and then remove with a chisel instead of wiping it away while still wet.

   Regards!

   Tom