Reasonably successful grain filling.

[Andy Holder]

Thanks for all the help with my previous query about grain filling. I've had another go and here are the results.

 

This was the concertina straight from eBay.

 

 

Firstly I took the old polish off with a mixture of methylated spirits and sanding. Then I mixed plaster of paris with brown umber and red powder pigment, then dabbed a slightly damp ball of lint free cloth into it and rubbed it into the grain.

 

 

When it's dry you wish you hadn't even started this approach!

 

 

Then, after sanding it begins to look a bit more hopeful.

 

 

2 coats of spirit based sanding sealer and a rub down.

 

 

2 sessions of 3-4 coats of button polish, Dry overnight and a final rub with burnishing cream.

 

 

The photo really doesn't do it justice, it looks even more lovely in the flesh!

 

Cheers

Andy

Edited December 30, 2011 by Andy Holder

[varney]

Hi Andy,

 

Lovely job..... I was looking for some rosewood grain filler at one point and ended up having to make some by sanding down a scrap piece of rosewood to powder, then made a paste from it with shellac. It worked well enough but I think your result is better.

 

I can only view two of the pictures in your post - the initial application to the sanded down piece and the final picture. Can you re-try posting the others..?

 

What is 'button polish' and 'burnishing cream' and how did you apply these?

 

Once again well done on a lovely job!

 

Michael.

[Andy Holder]

Hi Andy,

 

Lovely job..... I was looking for some rosewood grain filler at one point and ended up having to make some by sanding down a scrap piece of rosewood to powder, then made a paste from it with shellac. It worked well enough but I think your result is better.

 

I can only view two of the pictures in your post - the initial application to the sanded down piece and the final picture. Can you re-try posting the others..?

 

What is 'button polish' and 'burnishing cream' and how did you apply these?

 

Once again well done on a lovely job!

 

Michael.

 

Thank you Michael. I have been having trouble with posting pictures. I'll have another go later but in the meantime I'll try just putting the links in again.

[varney]

Great Andy - can see them all now.

 

What grit sanding paper did you use throughout? Still would love to know what button polish you used and that burnishing cream. What sort of drying time is necessary for the button polish?

 

questions, questions!

 

Michael.

[Andy Holder]

Great Andy - can see them all now.

 

What grit sanding paper did you use throughout? Still would love to know what button polish you used and that burnishing cream. What sort of drying time is necessary for the button polish?

 

questions, questions!

 

Michael.

 

Hi Michael.

I stripped it fairly harshly with I think 180 grit on a random orbital sander first to get back to bare wood, then I used 600 grit and then 1200 grit wet 'n dry (used dry and then washed for re-use).

Button polish is a fairly widely available french polish with a little bit of colouring. There's also white french polish which is clear. If you google button polish there are lots of suppliers. It dries in seconds, so you have to apply very thin coats quickly.

Also, it's a good idea to do a search for french polishing. There are lots of articles and some are extremely complicated. I only do the simple bits and leave out the time consuming stuff. It's fine using oil and sweeping across a table top in a figure of eight, but it doesn't really work with a small bit of pierced wood! The important thing is to use a Fad or Rubber (a wad of cotton wool tightly gathered in a bit of good cotton. Put the button polish into the cotton wool, never dip the rubber into it. Then you can squeeze it through to the surface and apply it very thinly. You just have to be a bit careful not to overload the fretwork edges and get drips. After you've built up 10 or 12 very thin coats over 3 or 4 sessions, leave it overnight. The burnishing cream (Liberon make a good one) is very slightly abrasive and cuts back the surface to a high gloss. I believe it is just T-Cut for cars, in a more expensive bottle, it smells exactly the same!

Please feel free to PM me if you want any more info.

Cheers

Andy

[varney]

Hey Andy,

 

from what you're saying am I correct in thinking 'button polish' is french polish i.e. shellac? Have used that with reasonably good results, but it's the grain filling which prevented me getting the finish you've achieved.

 

Was it just raw artist pigment you used for the burnt umber / red? What mix ratio did you use for the plaster of paris powder to the pigment? I can experiment here myself but would be better to try and follow your process...

 

I hadn't come across 'Liberon' burnishing cream before, but from what you say T-cut might be a more readily available stand in, that is unless someone on the forum has tried this and found problems?

 

Will PM you with my progress!

 

Michael.

[SteveS]

from what you're saying am I correct in thinking 'button polish' is french polish i.e. shellac?

Button polish is a brown shellac - it is called button polish because it is supplied as brown disks of shellac that look quite literally like buttons.

Button polish isn't as refined as blond and lemon shellac.

 

Andy, you've done a nice job on the ends.

Edited December 30, 2011 by SteveS

[Andy Holder]

Thanks Steve for the compliment.

 

Varney, I really didn't have much of a clue about ratios. I got the idea from here:

 

Piano finishing

 

I'm guessing this but it was probably half a tablespoon of plaster of paris, half a teaspoon of burnt umber and a pinch of alizarin crimson. The pigments are Winsor & Newton dry ground artists pigments Sold here. Mixed up well then the rubber (like the polishing rubber, cotton wool in a cotton wad) is wet and wrung out very well and dabbed into it. If its too wet then just dab it in again until its a firm paste on the surface.

 

Good luck if you try it. I'd like to know the result. I may have just been lucky.

Edited December 30, 2011 by Andy Holder