jimmyhopps Posted May 31, 2016 Report Share Posted May 31, 2016 I'm about to start finishing a small entry table - 11" deep, 41" wide. Somewhat colonial in design - tapered legs and 2 inset drawers. American walnut. The piece will go in my mud room and hold a phone, keys, etc. I'd like to fill the grain (watco wet sanding) of the top. never done it, but its a small piece so good place to learn. ARS top coat probably. Question: do i need to fill the grain of the entire piece - legs, drawers, rails/stiles? or just the top? Will it look odd, or too contrasting, with only the top having been filled and no fill on the legs? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wdwerker Posted May 31, 2016 Report Share Posted May 31, 2016 Filling the grain on a top is a lot of work. Filling the grain on an entire piece is exceedingly difficult. It it so easy to miss areas and have to go back over them or over-sand through the fill. It is harder to fill and sand shaped parts. And I just don't think the benefits justify the effort. Filling the top gives you a smooth surface to polish with no grain to collect dirt or reduce the reflections. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ronn W Posted May 31, 2016 Report Share Posted May 31, 2016 Yep, using oil to fill the pores will be a lot of work but the results can be great. The top is the feature that people will notice and touch the most. I don't think its worth the effort to do the entire piece. Let us know how ti turns out and how many coats it took. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimmyhopps Posted May 31, 2016 Author Report Share Posted May 31, 2016 thanks. a lot of work? most of the demos look fairly straight forward. followup question. generally one is advised to remove dust from pores before finishing. i assume that is not the case here? i should sand prior, and leave the dust in the pores? seems logical, but haven't read where anybody comments on this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
..Kev Posted May 31, 2016 Report Share Posted May 31, 2016 I always blow or vacuum the piece off before finishing.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimmyhopps Posted May 31, 2016 Author Report Share Posted May 31, 2016 Tiods, even when grain filling? doesn't blowing it off just imply you have to sand that much more to fill it in? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
..Kev Posted May 31, 2016 Report Share Posted May 31, 2016 2 minutes ago, jimmyhopps said: Tiods, even when grain filling? doesn't blowing it off just imply you have to sand that much more to fill it in? Yep.. It's dry.. You have to get the dust off or you'll just end up with a bunch of nibs in your finish.. You could wipe with a damp cloth or a tack rag and do the same thing.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimmyhopps Posted May 31, 2016 Author Report Share Posted May 31, 2016 thanks, but still not sure i get the logic - brush/blow off sanding dust, the wet sand to get sanding dust in the pores with oil to lock it in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
..Kev Posted May 31, 2016 Report Share Posted May 31, 2016 I should have read that you were wet sanding to fill the pores but, once that's dry, it's dry. You're only blowing/wiping off the lose nibs left on the surface. This is close to how I usually do it.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimmyhopps Posted May 31, 2016 Author Report Share Posted May 31, 2016 Thanks Tiods. do you usually do the whole, or just the table tops? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
..Kev Posted May 31, 2016 Report Share Posted May 31, 2016 14 minutes ago, jimmyhopps said: Thanks Tiods. do you usually do the whole, or just the table tops? If I do it at all, usually just the top.. Spraying lacquer or WB poly usually fills them and you self levels. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eric. Posted June 1, 2016 Report Share Posted June 1, 2016 I don't get the logic in filling pores. If wood was supposed to look like that, it would grow that way. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drzaius Posted June 1, 2016 Report Share Posted June 1, 2016 About the only time I'd fill pores is with red oak cause it's so full of huge pores that dirt, crumbs & small animals will fall in. But then I'd never build anything from red oak, so never mind. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wtnhighlander Posted June 1, 2016 Report Share Posted June 1, 2016 Jimmy, if you dry sand, then apply oil over the dusty surface, you will end up with a table covered in boogers. The dry dust balls up, rather than mixing nicely with the oil. Start clean. Having said that, I have to side with Eric a bit. Sand in the oil to get that silky feel, but quit before the surface is unnaturally smooth to the eye. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimmyhopps Posted June 1, 2016 Author Report Share Posted June 1, 2016 Thanks highlander. i think that makes sense for the surface dust and i hence will wipe it down. i would guess the dust in the pores stays put. will have to try a sample piece. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimmyhopps Posted June 16, 2016 Author Report Share Posted June 16, 2016 Highlander, shame of me for not taking your advise. I've got boogers. First 3 coats actually worked fine. nice and smooth. but for some reason, the 4th coat has a ton of boogers. maybe it had more dust than i realized. gonna have to sand it back a bit, but that doesn't seem to be very difficult on my tests thus far. only other thing to add in case it caused my issue is that my 2nd coat was: 1/3 spirits, 1/3 watco, 1/3 poly - was aiming for some extra strength. the 3rd worked fine. maybe the 3rd filled every poor and the 4th had nowhere to soak in. don't know. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimmyhopps Posted June 16, 2016 Author Report Share Posted June 16, 2016 boogers on the area where i didn't apply the home brew too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coop Posted June 19, 2016 Report Share Posted June 19, 2016 Usually boogers are reserved for the underside of the table top, along with chewing gum? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bombarde16 Posted June 20, 2016 Report Share Posted June 20, 2016 On 6/16/2016 at 3:02 PM, Mike. said: No offense Jimmy, but i will never understand why people insist on these home brew finishes. I think there must be some internet talking heads giving making people think they can outsmart the chemists at minwax or general finishes. Yup. His name is Marc. I'm one of those home brewers but I would amend the OP's brew by replacing the Watco with boiled linseed oil. The standard three part home brew of BLO, solvent and polyurethane essentially produces what gets marketed as "Danish Oil", so using Watco to produce this is bizarrely circular. I tried running some numbers to get an idea of cost. i.e. Buying components separately versus buying pre-mixed Danish oils or wipe-on poly. Couldn't find any combination of off-the-shelf sizes that would yield an apples-to-apples result not skewed by the economies of buying in bulk. Typically, pre-mixed finishes are sold in smaller quantities whereas one can buy BLO, poly, and solvent in gallon jugs. Regardless, I'd venture that one of the appeals is versatility. The individual components of BLO, poly and solvent all have uses of their own whereas a pre-mixed Danish oil or wiping varnish is just that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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