Replies

1. 
   Kevin | May 29, 2003 08:30pm | #1

   The surface of the drawer front is a comprised of a 1/2" thick mahogany board clued to some lesser value type of wood. The drawer face is extremely scratched and dented. My goal is to fill as many of these imperfections as possible.

   If you've got the surface clean (completely stripped), I would strongly suggest that you sweat out as many of the imperfections as possible! Repeat it on anything that doesn't sweat out the first time. Then I'd lightly sand the surface to find the remaining low spots. Only then would I use wood filler/putty. Then I'd sand as much of it out as possible. You say you've got 1/2" to work with. So, you should be able to get the worst of the scratches and dents out without having to use filler.

   On any filler spots that cross wood grain I would go down to an art supply store, buy a Dark Umber art pencil, and draw in the grain as best you can. That'll go a very long ways towards hiding the fact that you've got wood filler in there.

   If there is still some of the old finish remaining on the mahogany, it probably won't sweat out real well. I like to finish up a stripping job by going over the surface with a fine (grey green) scotchbrite pad and lacquer thinner... scrubbing lightly with the grain. That pulls a LOT of the remaining finish out of the wood pores. Care needs to be taken to wipe off the dirty thinner with a dry cloth before it dries out... otherwise you end up just moving the remaining old finish from one spot to another.

   Regards,

   Kevin

1. 
   forestgirl | May 29, 2003 11:54pm | #2

   Kevin, it occurs to me that Mark may not know what it means to "sweat out" a ding.  Just in case (and I'm assuming that I actually know, LOL!) --- this is the process of infusing moisture into a dent by using a damp cloth and a hot iron over the spot.  Did it several times myself last night after finding some little dings in a just-sanded workpiece.forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl   ;-)

1. 
   Kevin | May 30, 2003 01:41am | #3

   Great synopsis of how "sweating out" works! :-)

   There used to be commercial irons available that furniture shops used when sweating out. Having a vastly smaller head than a regular clothing iron has... it was much easier to use and had the added benefit of not having all those steam holes like a clothing iron has. Mohawk used to sell 'em. I dunno if they still do. One could make a makeshift one using a soldering iron and a block of steel. I made one several years ago but the soldering iron is too cheap and the plastic handle gets soft after a while. LOL It was a good idea... I just shouldn't have cut corners one the quality of the soldering iron.

   Actually... I have one of those electric burn-in heaters and a couple burn-in knives (the sort used to "burn in" epoxy repair material on a damaged piece of wood furniture). I use those to "sweat out" now. They don't stay hot very long... but, I don't end up swelling a square foot of wood when all I need is a square centimeter sweated out either. LOL

   Regards,

   Kevin

1. 
   forestgirl | May 30, 2003 08:51am | #4

   Although I was being very careful last night using the point of the iron on the cloth, the vision of a soldering iron kept dancing in my head.  Figured it might be just a bit tooooo hot.  Didn't think about a burn-in iron.  Great idea!

   If you get stuck again sometime with just a household iron, try tipping the point down into the towel, or for a bigger ding rotate it to expose am inch or so of edge and rub that back and forth over the towel.forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl   ;-)

1. 
   Kevin | May 30, 2003 08:14pm | #7

    

   Although I was being very careful last night using the point of the iron on the cloth, the vision of a soldering iron kept dancing in my head.  Figured it might be just a bit tooooo hot.

   Actually, as long as the heat isn't so much that it scorches the wood... hotter is better in my opinion. Too low of an application of heat will result in only partially expanded wood cells.

   Regards,

   Kevin

2. 
   Kevin | May 30, 2003 06:39pm | #5

   As an aside of sorts... I had never heard of using a wet cloth to do the "sweating out" until after I got out of the furniture biz. In the furniture biz they just dab a finger in a cup of water and touch it to the dented area, repeating as necessary. The main reason for this was to localize the actual swelling of the wood to just the damaged area. In the long run it was faster that way because a quick pass with the sander and it was a done deal.

   I actually prefer this method on deep dents because it allows the water to soak in deeper into the wood. The biggest drawback of using a moist cloth is that when the iron is applied the water is boiling out and doesn't penetrate as deeply into the wood as might sometimes be needed. I suppose that a small artists brush might work better than a finger...

   What I always do is to first go over the piece and circle any spots to be sweated out with a pencil. Then, I'll dab water on and go about my business. The initial application of water opens up the pores nicely. Then I'll come back (using the pencil marks as a reference as to where the dings and scratches are) and reapply water... give it a second or two to soak in and then hit it with the iron. Some woods like Cherry scorch easily so I sometimes use the corner of a moistened cloth just to dissipate the worst of the heat while sweating the damaged area out.

   I have found that using this approach allows me to minimize the majority of damage on some torn and scratched areas of the wood where the surface has been torn rather than dented. It won't fix the tear... but, one can often swell the wood out enough that a lot less filler is required to patch the damage... thus making it that much less obvious that a repair has been performed. Using just the moist cloth method doesn't, in my experience, usually get a deep enough penetration of the moisture to effect much of a change in the torn spot.

   Anyway... just to expand a bit (at the risk of stating the obvious) on how this works for those who have never sweated out a ding... The water soaks into the damaged wood cells and then when heat is applied the water expands rapidly, forcing the collapsed wood cells open. Torn wood invariably has at least some collapsed wood cells like a dent does... which is why sweating out can sometimes help repair a tear or scratch in the wood.

   Regards,

   Kevin

1. 
   forestgirl | May 30, 2003 07:19pm | #6

   Great information, Kevin, and an approach that I'll certainly try.  It makes sense to let the water sit a bit and soak in.forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl   ;-)

2. 
   efarmer4 | May 30, 2003 08:35pm | #8

   Your discussion about the iron used to sweat out wood made me think of a tool I have from radio control airplane making that they call a Sealing Iron, and use to attach plastic film skins to the plane.

   See: http://www.hobby-lobby.com/heatgun.htm for a full description. Edward

1. 
   forestgirl | Jun 01, 2003 10:22pm | #14

   Cool little gadget, that is.  Considerably less expensive than a burn-in knife too!forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl   ;-)

2. 
   Kevin | Jun 02, 2003 01:03am | #15

   Except for the sharp point on the tip, that looks remarkably like the irons we used in the furniture biz. Instead of the sharp point at the end the ones we used had a tapered end with a blunt tip... Sorta like a capital "A" minus the top half.

   I just received the latest copy of the Mohawk catalogue and they are still marketing an iron that looks to be almost the same as what I used in furniture. It's being marketed as part of their vinyl/naugahyde repair line of stuff. Pretty much the same as your RC airplane iron... except for that sharp tip you've got. Sharp tip or no, I'd think it would work very well for sweating out dents and such in wood.

   Regards,

   Kevin

2. 
   kram59 | May 31, 2003 04:03pm | #9

   Hi Kevin/Others

   I apologizes for not responding sooner. Thanks for the repair process advice. I will give your "sweat-out" procedure a try next week and let you know how it worked.

1. 
   Kevin | Jun 02, 2003 01:16am | #16

   Please do, Mark. I'd love to hear how it works for you.

   Paul makes a good point about the "charm" of an old piece. Like you, I have an old piece that had been severely abused and which had very little market value, as it was a mass produced piece of middling quality. I posted some pics in the Gallery a few days ago. In my case I know that refinishing it brought up it's current market value more than had I left it alone. As for the abuse... at first I was disappointed that I was unable to fix more than about 1/4 of the damage to the actual wood. But, many months after the fact I look at it now and can honestly say that the remaining dings and such definitely give it some character that is quite charming. LOL about once a month one of our most senior exhibit builders at work tries to talk me into selling it to him.

   Regards,

   Kevin

2. 
   Paul_Snyder | May 31, 2003 05:41pm | #10

   Mark - if the "damage" doesn't affect the structural integrity of the piece, I'd leave it as is during the refinishing process. The dents, dings, scratches, etc. are part of the history of the piece and an indicator of its age and use. It you make it look "new," it will lose some of it's charm.

   Mahogany takes dye very well and you don't need to pre-seal the wood first. You can use the dye on the bare wood with consistently good results.

   Paul

1. 
   kram59 | Jun 01, 2003 05:01am | #11

   Thanks Paul

   Between the advice I have been receiving from "knots" and books on wood finishing by Bob Flexner and Jeff Jewett I believe I can do this job correctly. By-the-way the piece of furniture I am working on is from the 1930s. It has been greatly abused over the years (layers of paint and lacquer, chipped veneer etc). Bottom-line it has more sentimental value then $ value. Recently retired I have time to work on this piece of furniture.

   Very Appreciative

   Mark

1. 
   forestgirl | Jun 01, 2003 06:36pm | #12

   A piece like that (sentimental$$ > market$$) lends itself to the kind of time investment you're making -- what a great way to learn and practice!forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl   ;-)

1. 
   kram59 | Jun 01, 2003 08:41pm | #13

   Thanks for the encouragement and suggestions!!!

   Mark