I have a problem with some mahogany panelling I’ve been building. I’ve milled the frames from solid mahogany and fixed them in place with finishing nails that I’ve punched below the surface. I pre-stained the mahogany with an aniline dye.
I then filled the nail holes with “Famowood Wood Filler” – a water-based stainable paste filler. I smeared this on, rather like using spackling, and then wiped off the surplus. Unfortunately this left some residue in the pores of the wood surrounding the nail hole. This residue became much more obvious when I started to apply poly to the wood.
I’m at a loss as to how to rectify this situation. The small nail holes are now large blotches that I can’t sand out without sanding deeply into the dyed wood. Although the filler is supposed to be stainable, it’s not as receptive as that claim suggests. What can I do?
Replies
Famowood is usually lacquer-based, not water based, but you do say you have water-based Famowood.
One option is to apply the filler to the entire area, and stain, or use grain filler and stain. Removing it is not so easy but you could try applying hot water to the affected area via sponge/rag and take out the filler with dental picks. A tedious process.
Martyn,
I realize this is my own personal hangup & will probably catch flak for it, but I draw the line at using brads & nails if I consider that I am attempting "fine woodworking." Wasn't there some other attachment method available for this fine & beautiful wood? I have read all sorts of suggestions for filling holes & defects in wood. I have never seen a patch that was not at least a little bit ugly or else it was essentially painted over. Repairing after a nail has been driven is nearly impossible also.
I don't mean to offend commercial woodworkers who regularly use brads & nails. I wish you didn't, but it is your clients who set those standards, not I.
Cadiddlehopper
The time to fill nail holes is after the first coat or two of the clear top coat has been applied. Then you know exactly what color you need,and the finish prevents the filler material from "infecting" surrounding areas. I like stick shellac for such things.
The quest for a stainable filler is about as close to fullfillment as the search for the Holy grail. It's a monsterous task, when you consider that two boards of the same species may take stain differently.
After the fact, I think you can sand most of the problem away. Dye isn't that difficult to repair if you do cut through the color.
If this is furniture, I'd agree that nails can be avoided in almost all cases. Or, if you have to use a nail--as needed to be authentic with reproduction furniture which often have moldings nailed to the sides of cases--you can use nails that end up being nearly invisible. Tremont Nails headless brads are nearly invisible, and for more modern technology, 23 gauge pins don't leave much of a visible hole.
Thanks for your suggestions. This isn't fine furniture or I would have been much more careful. Rather it is wall and ceiling panelling in my own home, and the first time I have tackled such a daunting task (although it seemed quite straightforward when I started out).
Working overhead with a toothpick is definitely a last resort, although I'll try the warm water. I'm reluctant to start sanding, partly because there is so much of it and partly because I'm afraid of ending up with uneven staining, but maybe that's what I'm going to have to do.
Whatever the outcome, I'll be a little wiser next time. Thanks again.
Martyn,
I've never found a stainable filler that was satisfactory. So stain and seal the woodwork leaving the nailholes unfilled. Then after sealing I mix up some DAP window putty with tintsall paint colors to match the wood. Often you need several tints, depending on color variation. I work in a small amount.
It's important to seal first, particularly with open grained woods or even the putty will fill the grain locally and it will show.
For some jobs I've even been known to break out the artists oil paints and touch up difficult blemishes.
Talk about your nails in your "fine woodworking," I once was using reclaimed wood on a piece to be stained and neglected to cut around a huge, nasty nail hole, I had intended to keep the blemish to the back of the board where it wouldn't be seen. Sure enough I screwed up and here it was right on top of the nursing stool I was making. Some deftly applied putty some artistic paint and I turned it into a pin knot and none's the wiser.
If you cannot fix your booboo, now might be the time to take up marquetry! :-)
David C
I think I have found an acceptable solution inspired by your various suggestions. Yesterday I tried using a warm sponge to soften the filler. I then wet-sanded the offending blotches and lightly wet-sanded the rest. Finally I went over the whole peice with the sponge. The wet-sanding removes most of the filler while the sponging evens out the overall colour. Not the most elegant process, and it's hard to get it right first time, but I guess it's any port in a storm! The end result should be good enough.
David, I could never see the attraction of marquetry until someone in our club gave a demonstration last year. Instead of producing the usual overwhelmingly busy wood-art, she used the technique to provide subtle highlights to her fine furniture to great effect. Maybe I will try it one day, but I think I need a bit more practice with the bigger stuff first!
Thanks for everyone's comments,
Martyn
I hope the sponging technique works for you, but you may still end up between a rock and a hard place. In the future, when you are filling nail holes in a piece that has already been stained, I would use an artists brush to quickly stain (and wipe) all the nail holes. Then just before you apply the final coat of finish, I would fill the holes with a color matched putty. "Color Putty" is a brand that is available in most paint stores. And it can be intermixed to get an exact match if one of their colors doesn't do the job.********************************************************
"It is what we learn after we think we know it all, that counts."
John Wooden 1910-
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