Hi gang. I’m curious as to your favorite brands of grain fillers. I’ve never used anything but Behlen, so I really don’t have a basis for comparison. I see several different products out there…any that you’ve found to be easier to use, or give better results than others?
Shalom, PJ
Replies
I like plaster of paris tinted to any colour that suits the job in hand with water based powder paints, either to match the job, or contrast with the background colour. It's an old technique. Cheap, infinitely variable, and works well. All finishes are compatible with it. I also use proprietary stuff out of a can. It's convenient and can be adjusted to suit the background too with the addition of universal tinting colours from art suppliers. Slainte.
http://www.RichardJonesFurniture.com
Plaster of paris. huh? Interesting. I imagine you mix it to a consistency similar to commercial products? My concern in using something water-based would be raising grain. Do you seal in any way prior to application?
Went web shopping last night, and found an acrylic grain filler made by Fuhr at Homestead...anyone have experience with that?
Shalom, PJ
The sloppy mix you mentioned would be using about 2 lb of unslaked lime slaked in about 6 pints of water. This stuff is painted on bare wood and rubbed off followed by sanding and is used for a limed oak effect, which is different process altogether as compared to grain filling. Other methods exist for achieving this effect, including proprietary liming pastes.
The plaster of paris grain filler technique does not involve a lot of water. A dry mix of tinted plaster in a bucket, a cloth made up that approximates a polishers rubber, and a separate bucket of clean water, and hessian (burlap) are all the essential materials required. Dip the tip of the cloth in the water, pick up a little plaster and rub it across the grain to fill the pores. After doing a small square burnish off across the grain with the hessian. There's more to it than that, but those are the basics. It's pretty much all hard physical work, but the result is good if it's done properly. Whether you apply a thinned out coat of polish prior to grain filling or not is dependent upon what effect you are trying to achieve. The thin coat of polish is always optional whatever grain filler is used. You just have to know what look you are after. It might be that you want the pigments in the filler to colour the timber which would indicate no barrier coat of polish. Slainte, RJ.http://www.RichardJonesFurniture.com
I like the filler sold by Constantine’s. It is like mud, so it needs to be thinned. I have used the Behlen filler, but it dries much faster and can get away from you. The Constantine’s, since it need thinning, you have a choice of using mineral sprits or naphtha. I use the Naphtha when doing small areas, since it has a faster drying time, and the MS for larger areas or working in hot weather.
Sgian,
My wife wants in the worst way to do something like that on the timbers in her new kitchen (they're white oak) I'm appalled and dead set against it since all of the timbers in the house are exposed and these would be visable from just about anyplace in the house. but SWMBO gets her decorating ideas from her sister and I can't talk her out of it. Her sister says that if we don't like it we can always paint over it! sure, that's why I built a timberframe so that I can just paint the wood!
How reversable would this process be? What if I sealed it with shellac or something prior to doing this? Why isn't sister-in-law beating legal, or is it? HMMMm mm I know wife beating is frowned on but you never hear about sister-in-law beating..........
Frenchy speaking form the law enforcement side of me I hate to tell you that it is a no go on the sister-in-law beating idea.
Frenchy speaking from the husband side of it in-law beating I would be something I would vote for.
As for wood filler I just stay away from the stuff unless I am painting the work surface. I have used everything from glue and sawdust to store bought fillers and have never used one I would stand behind.Scott C. Frankland
Newfoundland Wood Worker
Scott,
Curses, just when I think I have a solution to my problem someone finds the loop hole in the law that I failed to!!!
What would you do in my situation? somehow my wife thought white oak was like whitewashed oak and she approved the idea...now years later she's grossing about it and is serious about wanting to do that to the whole timbers thru out the house, failing that she'll "accept" reluctantly, doing it to just her kitchen.
she hasn't got a lawyer on speed dial ...yet (I suspect she's waiting for the house to be finished) but the grossing is getting noticably louder and more frequent.
Jeeze Frenchy, what a dilema.... I just painted rock hard maple with black laquer.. I cried but thats what made the piece. I wonder if you could seal them up and then use milk paint as a wash to get the effect she wants. It doesnt seem to me that it would be hard to remove if the sister in law changes her mind, (and she will). Steve - in Northern California
somehow I'd like to remove my sister-in-law. Anybody got any sister-in-law remover?
I actually thought about doing something along those lines, sealing it up and then wrapping it with white plastic sheeting held in place with a little rubber cement.
Frenchy:
What about the obvious next project--a pine box? (just joking)
We bought a house where the wood timbers had been painted!! My solution was to "box" the timbers in 1/4" wood. You could buy 1/4" Oak, or cheaper, and white wash it to your little honies content. Then when she decides on whatever the next latest and greatest trend is, you can remove the "box" from the timbers and restore all the visual glory to your home.
PS, if you make the pine box big enough, I can through in the lout who painted the timbers in my house.
Michael
I think pine is way too expensive for her, I was thinking more along the lines of a garbage bag, a lonely road, and a shovel...
HMMmm! Maybe it's time for a little Fargo....
Frenchy one thing I have learned in my job is that the guy going around talking about a crime is the first we look for after the crime.
I have a picture of a timber frame home that was done with pine and then white washed. It didn't look to bad when it was all done.Scott C. Frankland
Newfoundland Wood Worker
Scott,
too bad you can't see the grin on my face when I think those thoughts, But seriously she's safe from me. I haven't hurt a flea since Vietnam and that was way more than my soul could stand, so rest easy. Actually except for her decorating ideas (there hasn't been one technique shown on TV that she doesn't fully embrace) she's a pretty good person. way better than my complaints would lead you to believe, but if you show her this I'll deny it and say that my wife typed it...
Life's full of trade offs. Maybe a little jail time would be worth it................or then again..............
Frenchy, you've got problems their, mate. It's hard to get that chalky stuff out of the grain once it's in there, barrier coat of polish or not.
I'd suggest not trying to talk the nagging queen and her scatter-brained sister out of it. Just ignore them both and do your own thing. At the end pretend that not only are you deaf, and daft, but that you are truly, utterly, gob-smackingly, stupid. Sometimes women will take pity on three legged dogs and floppy eared rabbits. You choose the panting or the nose twitching approach----whichever you think will work best, ha, ha. Slainte, RJ. http://www.RichardJonesFurniture.com
But Sgian buddy,
There are certain well ,shall we say comforts, that only ladies seem to fullfill. (at least for me) it would be nice to recieve that uhmmm comfort once or twice before I shuffle off this mortal coil. at the present rate, the words hell and freezing seem to come up a lot. (I speak only of my wife, not her sister of course).
The last I heard, you don't have to be married to partake of,----ahem,----- comforts , Frenchy. Slainte, RJ.http://www.RichardJonesFurniture.com
But Sgian buddy,
IF you ARE married and don't enjoy Ahemmmm,.... the comforts of marriage,.... you really have the worst of all worlds.
Unless you are suggesting I seek my comforts elsewhere? If that's the case can I remind you of a fact here in the United States?
Half!
Edited 5/2/2002 3:30:19 PM ET by frenchy
Frenchy, I've got an idea. Why don't you have the sister in law over for a little education course. Take a scrap piece of wood and let her do what she wants to it. Before she starts tell her how valuable the wood is so when she gets done practicing she needs to put the wood back to its original condition. I think once or twice around the block with that and she'll realize its not nice to mess with mother nature! Steve - in Northern California
I can remember reading a study that shows men like the natural look of wood and women like to PAINT.Scott C. Frankland
Newfoundland Wood Worker
A little more devious approach would be to have my wife give her somethin like a jewery box and then when she paints it demand it back unmarred......
But Scotts right, women just gotta nest!
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