Tearout repair mid finishing

[George Symula]

I've been working on a heavily grained tiger maple table as a gift for a very dear friend. There is also some mineral staining in the board that she picked out for the top so quite a bit of effort went into blending of different dyes to get all of the greens, reds, browns and grays to work together. I hand planed and scaped the top and it looked great. I followed the dyes with 2 coats of blonde shellac which is to be followed by ? coats of em6000 waterborne.

Now the problem....Even though I thought I had done a good job of prep work, (I thought) as I was sanding the shellac to flatten, I discovered 3 small tearouts. Any thoughts on fixing this problem that would not necessitate a major refinishing? The top really looks great to me and I'd hate to screw it up at this point.

Regards and thanks....George

[Jim Becker]

If they are not particularly deep, you could try using multiple applications of a grain filler product like Behlens. Once level, you can recoat with additional shellac and go on from there.

[Scott Holmes]

Jim nailed it. Jim doesn't Target have a clear vinyl filler for their EM6000 product?

[Conrad Fiore]

Sorry, thought you had already used the EM6000.

[George Symula]

Conrad, I have 2 coats of shellac and am ready to shoot 2-4 coats of EM6000.

Scott, the vinyl sealer sounds like the thing. I'll check the website. Only problem is my wife told our friend that it would be done by this weekend. In the best case I could get it to her this weekend and take it back for final rub and polish after cure..

Regards.....George

[Scott Holmes]

If the pores aren't too deep the EM 6000 should fill it OK.

Jim, you use EM6000 more than me; do you agree?

[glenn bradley]

Only problem is my wife told our friend that it would be done by this weekend.

Unless there is some specific need for this specific piece this weekend, I would push for a delayed delivery of a completed product myself. JMHO ;-)

[Conrad Fiore]

George,
You can use the EM6000 as a drop fill. Depending on how deep the tearout is, it will take quite a few applications. But the Target HSF5100 grain filler would also take a few applications. You can drop the 6000 with a tiny brush or "toothpick" like tool into the flaw. Put a fan on it to speed the drying. Try to keep the 6000 in the flaw without getting too much on the surrounding area. You can even mask off the flaw to make a little dam. After a few applications, sand withfine paper to level. When you have achieved the repair to your satisfaction, you can then start to spray your 6000 top coats. The beauty of using the 6000 is that it will burn into itself with every application and you should get a very clear repair.

[Tom McMahon]

Sometimes when fixing surface flaws a clear fill will just magnify the flaw. I would use a shellac stick to fix the the chip out.

[George Symula]

Thanks to all for the suggestions. I drop filled the flaws late this morning with a syringe and em6000. I light sanded shortly after noon and put a coat of 6000 down. Light sanded 1 1/2 hours later and trouble finding the fixes. Another coat an hour ago and they're gone. Love that 6000!!!

George

[Jim Becker]

If the pores aren't too deep the EM 6000 should fill it OK.

Jim, you use EM6000 more than me; do you agree?

Actually, I don't. EM6000 doesn't go on "thick" so it would take quite a few coats and also sanding back. If it could be done with a finish, I'd stick to the shellac for it. For the problem described, if I wanted to fill, I'd use the clear pore filler if at all possible, even if it required multiple applications and sanding back. Since you would normally seal the wood first before using that stuff, the OP is already prepared for that.

Unfortunately, doing this "right" may not fit into the schedule demanded by the "customer"...