What would you use on a project to fill tiny cracks and blemishes on a surface? My project is about 2 feet square and made of inlaid tiles that I made of hardwood. I want a product that fills imperfections and can be sanded to a fine surface before the final finish is applied.

 

Thanks

epoxy

Ok, what are the inlaid tiles made of and can they be sanded?

 

Sanding can be done, as suggested. But...........if they are different species (diffrerent colors), then after sanding, I would think a scraper would be what you need. The sanding dust will invade the grains of the the wood next to it and muddy the natural colors. Sanding would fill the blemishes, and scraping would take off that layer of intermixed sanding dust.

Don't ask me how I know this.

There's got to be a better way to explain, but that's the best I can do.

 The wood is all different colors, I have been sanding and dust has invaded. Not seriously, but it can be seen some. All the wood is hard wood, some exotic, others American hardwoods. I have never used a scraper, but it looks like a great time to start, that would avoid a lot of dust that my allergies don't like too.

As far as the dust invaders Ron, an compressor if you have one with a blower attachment will get those pesky dust particles out of the cracks and pours before you seal em in with finish.

Using a scraper sounds to be your best option to clean things up. I had a simular issue a while back between maple and cherry. I used some wet and dry sand paper and tung oil to help fill the minor imperfections. Once dried you finsih as normal. Care must be taken so that while sanding you don't over lap the different types of wood though. Time consuming but worth the efforts.

Best Wishes

Could you post a pic? That would be helpful. Wondering if you could just build a topcoat of something to fill in? How deep are the "cracks?"

Rob has a good suggestion.

 Mike, I will post a picture later. The cracks between tiles are about 1/64th,( + or- ) and there aren't many. I do have a couple of small chip outs are about the 1/8th around. I had thought about using 2 part epoxy finish and put it down with a brush. Then level it out with a plastic scraper.

 So far I have not had any dust migration, I am down to 100 grit sandpaper. If I go higher, I may get into that problem. The project has been put aside for a couple of days, until I can get all the best advise before proceeding.

Mike Frank said:

Could you post a pic? That would be helpful. Wondering if you could just build a topcoat of something to fill in? How deep are the "cracks?"

Rob has a good suggestion.

 How about laying a nice coat on the surface, letting it cure.   When it is cured, go over it with a scraper, LIGHTLY.    Then go back and top coat.    The "filler" coat would act like a sanding sealer.    Brush it on nice and thick, no thinner.    Once it has dried, and "cured", THEN scrape it down smooth.     Then a top coat of your choice. 

Here it is, composed of Yellow Hart, Purple Hart, Bloodwood, Cherry, Oak, and so on. All scrap material, all glued together over a long period. It was going to be a table, but my daughter wanted me to make a wall hanger out of it. I will put a Purple Hart border on it with a slot to allow for expansion. It has no finish on it now, but I am sure the colors will pop when I do apply some.

First thing that comes to mind is...hold on...WOWA!

 

You have various woods with different characteristics. I don't work with the exotics, but I have read possibly some of those woods color can bleed into the others depending on the type of finish used. I'm not sure of the approach to take here.

 

Hope others can jump in, maybe you have figured your finish schedule out already?

 

Very beautiful work, perhaps a close-up of the issues that are of a concern?

epoxy

+1 on the epoxy.

 

I have used it on cutting boards if I have a small void after clamping. It will sand down smooth and you won't see it..

 

rob durfos said:

epoxy

 I have used exotics quite a bit, no Bleeding, but glue can become a big problem. The only sure glue for exotic, oily wood is poly and that is only after a good cleaning with acetone. My next step is to buy a nice scraper and some two part epoxy. Non yellowing epoxy, don't want an unreal color smudge anywhere.

Mike Frank said:

First thing that comes to mind is...hold on...WOWA!

 

You have various woods with different characteristics. I don't work with the exotics, but I have read possibly some of those woods color can bleed into the others depending on the type of finish used. I'm not sure of the approach to take here.

 

Hope others can jump in, maybe you have figured your finish schedule out already?

 

Very beautiful work, perhaps a close-up of the issues that are of a concern?

Ok, WTF, OMG,OS.

 

Now that we got that out out of the way, Here's what I'd do.

 

If you are going for a clear finish, I would take the poly or varnish and I would use an Autobody filler spreader to force it into the cracks.  Then let it dry, scrape and repeat till the cracks are filled.  Then finish as you normally would.

 

By the way, have you seen these?

 

John, what kind did you use and did you have trouble with air?

John Moody said:

+1 on the epoxy.

 

I have used it on cutting boards if I have a small void after clamping. It will sand down smooth and you won't see it..

 

rob durfos said:

epoxy

Depending on the wood I've used the 'ol stand by....

The saw dust and a bit of glue make a really good wood filler...Worked for me but then again I'm just a babe in the woods compaired to all you wood Gods!

Ron, I just used the two part epoxy that I picked up at Lowes. I used it all about a week ago or I would tell you the name on the bottle. You just mix up what you need, I use a Popsicle stick to spread it or pour it over the area, wait for it to dry and sand it flat.

 

You may want to try it on a small sample area to make sure you are getting the results you are looking for, but it has worked for me.


Ron Altier said:

John, what kind did you use and did you have trouble with air?

John Moody said:

+1 on the epoxy.

 

I have used it on cutting boards if I have a small void after clamping. It will sand down smooth and you won't see it..

 

rob durfos said:

epoxy

I agree with Rob, 2 part epoxy. Something like West system would work great and not turn cloudy. It works great on slabs too. bob