Woodworker's Journal 2011-35-Winter, страница 24

Steaming Dents And Filling Gouges

Surefire advice for repairing those

little defects before you finish.

"Finding a putty that will take stain exactly the same as the wood," says the author, "is the Holy Grail of finishing."

into the depression, and let it soak in for a few seconds. Add at least enough water to fill the dent. Meanwhile, wet a clean, cotton cloth and wring it out. Lay the damp cloth over the water-filled dent and press a hot iron onto the cloth. The damp cloth will prevent the iron from scorching the wood. The heat will convert the water, which will have absorbed into the wood, into steam. The expanding steam will remove the dent. Remove the iron as soon as the cloth gets dry. If the dent comes only partway out, repeat the process a second time. When the wood is dry, resand the area before you stain or finish, using the same grit paper as you used for your final sanding.

Removing a dent using steam is a simple, two-step process that requires distilled water, an iron and a damp cotton cloth.

When you sand a project prior to finishing, the goal is to get the surface smooth and level. But, like potholes on the freeway, our projects are often plagued with depressions and divots that show up during final sanding. These fall into two categories: dents and gouges. Dents are depressions in the wood where the fibers have been crushed but not broken. Gouges are voids where wood fibers have been cut and where wood is missing. A significantly different repair technique is used for each one.

Steaming Dents

Wood fiber is like a bundle of straws, and dented wood is like an area of collapsed straws. Steaming swells them back into shape, usually making them completely disappear. If you are not sure whether the depression is a dent or a gouge, try steaming first If it does not come out completely, treat it like a gouge and fill it.

To steam a dent, put a drop or two of distilled water

Filling Gouges

Because wood is actually missing in a gouge, the only solution is to replace it with something, and that something is putty. Wood putty comes in powdered form that's designed to be mixed with water, and in both water-based and solvent-based ready-to-use formulations. You'll find it in a wide range of colors at home improvement stores and woodwork-

Match the putty to the lightest background color of your wood.

Put a dollop of putty and a few spots of artist's colors on a piece of glass or laminate to create a mixing palette for making your own custom-colored putty.

24 Steaming Dents And Filling Gouges