Paste wood fillers

[feanorelf]

On a Taunton book about finishing, I have read about this so called "paste wood filler" as great for filling pores, and I got quite curious as it is not that common in Italy (at least, not among hobbyists).

I have found some sites selling it the US, but I'd rather not going for it overseas and by robbed by shipping costs and custom duties; so, I wonder if the material is common and easily available in UK too (well, in a certain sense also UK IS overseas for me, but at least there are no custom duties!).

I browsed Axminster, but there are listed generic fillers, and I do not understand which is for repairs and if any is for pore-filling.

I would be grateful if any of you could help me with some tip about how to recognize it at Axminster or indicate some other seller - possibly online - and product name (also by PM if it is considered advertising and not allowed).

Thank you!

 

[Sgian Dubh]

I browsed Axminster, but there are listed generic fillers, and I do not understand which is for repairs and if any is for pore-filling.

http://www.axminster.co.uk/product-Rust ... -22802.htm

At Axminster the link above takes you to Rustin's grain filler. This stuff is for filling pores to give a level surface to polish over. The Brummer Stopping and Liberon Multi Purpose Wood Filler shown lower down on the same page are for filling voids or large holes.

Pore or grain filler is often used over the first coat of a thinly applied film forming polish. This way it doesn't alter the background colour. By that I mean that you can use pore/grain filler on bare wood, or wood that has only been dyed. However, the dyes and colourants in the filler will further adjust the background colour. By applying a thin coat of film forming polish such as shellac, varnish or lacquer before grain filling you seal the wood. This prevents the filler altering the background or base colour.

There are other pore fillers out there. Fiddes in south Wales produce a range of wood finishes, including grain filler. So do Morrell's, also based in the UK. You can also make your own using plaster of paris and water based paints or earth pigments.

But, I'd bet that with a bit of hunting around you'll find an Italian based supplier of all your finishing needs. This could be a more convenient solution than buying through Axminster, even though they generally have a good reputation regarding customer service-- they've looked after my/our needs pretty well for several years anyway. Slainte.

 

[MIGNAL]

Pumice is the traditional material for filling pores but takes a bit of practice to get very good results. If you are not fully in control of the technique then you either don't fill the pores, fill too much so that your left with a slurry on the surface or you get the white specks showing through.
The paste fillers are easier to use. I've recently started trying to fill the pores with a few coats of a very heavy cut of clear shellac, cutting well back between each coat whilst trying to avoid cutting into fresh pores. Not as quick as a paste filler but your virtually assured of a good colour match. At least early trials have been encouraging

 

[feanorelf]

But, I'd bet that with a bit of hunting around you'll find an Italian based supplier of all your finishing needs.

Actually I am still hunting here in Italy, but really paste fillers seems not that common: either traditional pumice filling (which is quite diffuculte) or plain shellac / cellulose-based sealers are the used techniques.

Now, reading that paste wood is mentioned everywere in US books, I am very curious about it, and I'd like to try it.

By the way, I have seen there are both water-based and oil-based grain-fillers. Can you recommend which one is best for which application?

Thanks,
Luciano

 

[DomValente]

PM sent

Dom

 

[Sgian Dubh]

I have seen there are both water-based and oil-based grain-fillers. Can you recommend which one is best for which application? Thanks,
Luciano

I haven't used the commercially available water based pore fillers, but I have made up my own water based fillers using plaster of paris as I mentioned before. I can't therefore comment on how the ready canned stuff performs out of the can. However, if you are planning to top coat with a water or acrylic based film forming varnish or polish I'd guess that you'd be safest to use the water based fillers under this.

Water based polishes tend to be very sensitive to contaminants under them. You shouldn't even rub down between coats with stearated abrasive paper because the stearate in the paper can cause adhesion problems.

The oil based fillers will accept shellac, the nitro-cellulose family of polishes and oil based varnishes over them after a suitable period to allow for the filler to cure properly. The oil element of these pore fillers may cause problems underneath water based polishes.

There's no problem I can think of with applying any type of film forming polish over water based pore fillers. Slainte.