Which Filler to use?

[Bill Miltner]

I am going to do some pore filling for the first time. The wood is walnut and the project is a base for a small workbench. I intend to apply a wash coat of shellac, fill the pores and then finish with Watco. I chose this project since its the one I am currently working on.

Do I use Behlen Pore-O Pac or their Water Bse filler?

[Bob Wingard]

I use tinted drywall mud .. just as good as & MUCH cheaper than the "dedicated" pore-filling stuff.

[Mike Gottlieb]

I use Constatine Oil Based filler. You can get it already tinted.

[Steve Schoene]

Using a pore filler and an oil/varnish finish aren't really compatible with each other. Most pore fillers seal the wood, preventing the penetration required for the oil/varnish mix. This would be particularly true if there has also been a shellac wash coat. They are also not aesthetically good mixes either(opinion only, of course). Oil varnish mixes are best used in natural "in-the-wood" finishes. This can be a very good look for walnut, but in that look the pores aren't filled.

Film finishes are better suited for wood that has the pores filled. If having the glass smooth surface is the main goal, then I'd recommend using either an oil based varnish such as Waterlox Original/Sealer as a wipe on version. Shellac also makes a good topcoat over porefiller.

As far as which pore filler, my favorite would be Sherwin-Williams Sher-wood Natural Filler but it only comes in gallons. As an alternative the Old Masters pore filler should work fine. These have high proportions of crystalline silica that shrinks less than many other filler materials, and which becomes more translucent in the pores than others such as gypsum or talc.

[Jamie Schmitz]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZQfm0nLXJ7Q
Here is a link for how to apply Paste wood filler. There are also clear fillers for use on wood that will have a natural finish.

[Casey Gooding]

If you are planning on using an oil based finish, my favorite method is to use the finish itself as a pore filler. I like to thin the finish and wet sand with 400 grit to fill the pores. Wipe off the excess and you're done.

[Prashun Patel]

Far be it for me to discourage experimentation, but why are you pore filling a base for a workbench. I've porefilled walnut and I've also just wetsanded oil varnish into the pores using 220-400grit wet/dry paper. I MUCH prefer the wetsanding route. It's cheaper, clearer, and less messy. Further, pore filling doesn't really make an aesthetic difference on anything but the broadest, film-formed surfaces that get touched and a lot of raking light. Your base, in Danish Oil doesn't fit these.

[Bill Miltner]

I am pore filling the base of a workbench just to use it as practice. I had not thought out the use of WATCO very well and now will use a film forming one, probably Hydrocote Poly.

Far be it for me to discourage experimentation, but why are you pore filling a base for a workbench. I've porefilled walnut and I've also just wetsanded oil varnish into the pores using 220-400grit wet/dry paper. I MUCH prefer the wetsanding route. It's cheaper, clearer, and less messy. Further, pore filling doesn't really make an aesthetic difference on anything but the broadest, film-formed surfaces that get touched and a lot of raking light. Your base, in Danish Oil doesn't fit these.

[Philip Berman]

I'm in the midst of filling a fireplace surround, overmantel, and 2 bookcases, all made of walnut, using boiled linseed oil with 4f pumice rubbed in. This is the first time I've done any filling, simple learning curve and getting great results. I rub on some BLO that's been thinned a bit with spirits, then use a salt shaker filled with pumice to rub across the grain, adding more pumice when necessary. Let it dry for a couple of days or until I can sand with 400-grit paper without getting any corns. It will look like hell when you're done with the sanding, as if white paint were spilled on your work and you tried, but didn't succeed, in wiping it off! I'm then using garnet shellac tinted with 2drops/ounce of transtint reddish-brown, brushed on, and with the first coat the white disappears.

[Larry Fox]

I'm in the midst of filling a fireplace surround, overmantel, and 2 bookcases, all made of walnut, using boiled linseed oil with 4f pumice rubbed in. This is the first time I've done any filling, simple learning curve and getting great results. I rub on some BLO that's been thinned a bit with spirits, then use a salt shaker filled with pumice to rub across the grain, adding more pumice when necessary. Let it dry for a couple of days or until I can sand with 400-grit paper without getting any corns. It will look like hell when you're done with the sanding, as if white paint were spilled on your work and you tried, but didn't succeed, in wiping it off! I'm then using garnet shellac tinted with 2drops/ounce of transtint reddish-brown, brushed on, and with the first coat the white disappears.

Careful to only use the bare minimum amount of pumice to get the job done when using the pumice / BLO method. Too much and you run the risk of it reverting white down the road (months). DAMHIKT

[Philip Berman]

Thanks for the heads-up on the pumice. Do you know anything about the process by which the pumice reverts to white? I'm presuming that when the surface is glass-smooth, after hitting the dried pumice/oil with 400-grit paper, that I've removed enough. The surface is still 'frosty' looking, and there are some very fine lines/spots of white where the pumice has filled - is this the procedure you followed when you eventually had a problem? I'd sure hate to have to remove all of this - it's huge (covers a 18' X 8' wall!!!!!)

[Larry Fox]

Philip, I have attached a pic of what it looks like when it reverts ... sorta. I say sorta because I think I have succeeded in taking the worst picture in the history of mankind. Unfortunately my photography skills are sorely wanting but it should give you the idea. Unfortunately I don't think there is a magic formula for how much is too much but general idea is to use as little as possible to get the job done. This is under a French polish and I did the grain filling after a spit-coat of shellac and a similar technique as the polishing so there are likely some differences in our application technique. I am certainly not trying to make extra work for you or make you second guess your technique but just wanted to give you a head's up on one of my pieces where it reverted. I have several that were just fine and I chalk this one up to too much pumice. Metric that has worked for me is that when I think I have way too little pumice to get the job done it is actually just about right and if I think I am good and have enough then I am using to much.

IMG_1713.jpgIMG_1714.jpg

[Philip Berman]

I appreciate the advice Larry. So you worked the pumice in with boiled linseed oil after the spit-coat of shellac? I don't know if it makes a diff, but I'm using the BLO on raw wood. I'm also sanding after the pumice/blo dries. I was going to just fill the grain with a pumice/shellac mixture but on a test piece I had done there was some streaking of color, so I decided to go with the method i'm using. The BLO really does bring out the grain in the wood which is good because between the garnet shellac and the transtint, the finish is very dark. Are you going to strip it and start over?

This is the only finished part I've got so far. There are 2 raised-panel boxes that will flank the overmantel, and then bookcases on either side of the fireplace (those haven't yet been built).

Phil