I need some help with filling African Mahogany

What I did was removed the dust collection from my random-orbital-sander and put the dust bag on it, I then sanded the project/mahogany with 220grit prepping the wood for finishing and collecting the sawdust at the same time.

Next, I mixed the sawdust with shellac – it becomes a very thick slur which I then applied liberally over the mahogany – it looks messy, and not very attractive at this point. I then scraped it off using a scraper- trying not to dig into the material, but just scrape the excess after it has dried. the remaining slurr was sealing the pores. you can do a 2nd application just to make sure everything is sealed ,and then use shellac over that as the finish, or whatever other finish you want to use.

-- ㊍ When in doubt - There is no doubt - Go the safer route.

I’ve never seen filled grain that I liked. It always looks kind of muddy to me.

I suppose if I were hell bent to fill some grain I’d try this:
First a Wash coat of shellac.
Then as many coats as needed of a very heavy cut of super blond dewaxed shellac rubbed into the pores so the shellac ends up filling them. Then sand past the shellac just to the wood and finish with a fast drying urethane like 181

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Angela, I normally wouldn’t stain or dye African mahogany, but to fill the grain here’s what I would do. Watco makes a mahogany danish oil, that may give you the color you’re after. Apply it liberally and sand it by hand with some 400 grit wet/dry sand paper. You’ll have to give it a good work over. Wipe of the excess, across the grain and let dry. Repeat the procedure again. Third time wipe the excess off with the grain. This should give you the mahogany color and the sanding debris will fill in the pores of the wood. I normally do this with a oil/varnish mix, without attempting to change the color of the wood. Good luck.

-- Tim-- http://www.tmuli.com

I filled the grain on a mahogany window sill. I used Behlen’s water-based Mahogany grain filler which was pink in the can. I spread it on a small area at a time using a plastic spreader working at 45 degrees to the grain. It goes off quickly, so you have to work fast. I then hand sanded using a block to just leave the filler in the grain. The I did it again working in the other direction at 45 degrees. After sanding again, the pores were filled with pink filler (a bit scary), but once I applied the top coat which was Liberon Finishing Oil, you couldn’t see it so all was well in the end.

-- Andy -- Old Chinese proverb say: If you think something can't be done, don't interrupt man who is doing it.

Timber Mate wood filler is my favorite grain filler. VERY easy to use. I fill the grain, sand to final grit, and then apply stain (if staining). I have also used BLO and wet sanded with 180 grit to form a slurry which is then worked across the grain with a credit card. The Timber Mate is quicker, easier, and produces good results. It was recently reviewed on this site. Hope this helps. ps Buy the mahogany Timbermate for mahogany, red oak for red oak, etc….

-- " I'll try to be nicer, if you'll try to be smarter" gfadvm

I have been using the Crystalac for a good while now and I like it. I rarely stain wood so I like it because it drys clear and does not leave a muddy look. But when you put it on you must not let it dry, leave it until it gets very thick like puddy then scrape it off with a credit card or similar plastic card. You will then have a very thin coat on top, allow 24 hours to dry completely then sand off the remander with a 320 of 400 grit paper. If you wish to stain do it before using Crystalac.

-- Tom D

Angela,

Jeff Jewitt came up with a solution a few years ago. He used plaster of paris. He applied it with a squegee across the grain (after staining and sealing with shellac), wiped it off with burlap going across the grain, then when dry fine sanded to remove the dust. Then he hit it with blo which turns the plaster of paris translucent and showed the color. With a sealed and smooth surface, he applied a finish and the pictures in the magazine ( I believe it was American Woodworker) looked good.

Steve

-- Steve in KY. 44 years so far with my lovely bride. Think I'll keep her.

I recently used Target Coatings’ High Solids Grain Filler to fill Af Mah. Brush on, let solidify 5 min, scrape off at 45 degrees to grain. Sand. Repeat twice more. This was after a coat of shellac to seal the stain. Top-coated the HSF.with lacquer (EM6000). Came out glass smooth.

-- Optimists are usually disappointed. Pessimists are either right or pleasantly surprised. I tend to be a disappointed pessimist.

my favored method for por filling is to use a catalyzed lacquer and build up as many coats as need to be able to rub out the finish. heres the draw back you need to have a good place to finish seid project and have to have some experience with spray finishes.

The nice part about this methode is you dont muddle up the wood with por fillers.

I wood assume as cr1 has pointed out you could also pull this off with shellac but it would be a lengthy process.

-- I buy tools so i can make more money,so ican buy more tools so I can work more, to make more money, so I can buy more tool, so I can work more

how many ways to skin the cat?

Now that it’s skinned a dozen ways, how about some recipes for neighbor cat?

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Angela,

Try this with a test piece; it’s standard fare for guitar builders.

Get a tube of that 5-minute 2-part epoxy. Mix it and then squish it into the pores and smear it around on the wood using an old credit card. The credit card trick should enable you to squish it into the wood and leave a very light film on the rest of the wood surface. Let it dry.

When it has cured (I usually let it sit a day), sand the wood gently with 180 grit or 220 grit sandpaper. You need to sand until EITHER (a) the epoxy film is flat, but you haven’t sanded through the epoxy anywhere, OR (b) the epoxy film is just barely removed but you haven’t sanded enough to expose additional unfilled pores. (Sometimes I have to epoxy a second time to get a sanded surface that I’m happy with.)

Shellac over the epoxy to avoid any adhesion problems. Once the shellac has cured, sand gently with 220 and then apply whatever finish you wish.

This will completely fill all pores and give you a perfectly flat and smooth surface, while preserving the natural wood look and avoiding having wood that looks like it has been filled with gunk.

If you like the look, most luthiers use something called ZPoxy that you get from luthier’s supply houses. It works great. However, I have also had very good results using 5-minute epoxy and also with West Systems.

-- Kelby

I hit my Mahogany with a thinned layer of shellac to seal it before I fill it.

-- Dan Lyke, Petaluma California, http://www.flutterby.net/User:DanLyke

there’s a great “how to” on filling on http://www.milburnguitars.com/fpgraincontents.html
its part of their french polishing tutorial

-- Byron Conn, Woodworking/Furniture Design at Rochester Institute of Technology, http://byronconn.com

Well I ended up filling the wood. The problem I was having was the filler was staining the wood even though I had covered it with shellac first but I wasn’t using enough shellac to protect the wood. I was cutting the shellac to much so I used a 2 pound cut and 2 or 3 layers to fully protect the wood.

I used behlen’s mahogany wood filler and it worked great. I filled it twice then I sprayed shellac with my new sprayer from woodcraft. I sprayed 5 coats on because it was put on very thin then I then sprayed 3 coats of rockhard table top varish that was cut 50%. The top came out looking very very nice. I’m amazed how nice it looks. The shellac staph was easy because it dries so fast but with the varnish you need a cleaning environment because it take 3 hours until stuff won’t stick on it.

I’m currently out of the country but when I return I’ll add the finishing and filling photos to my TV stand blog.
Kelby, I might try your idea on another project. I didn’t want to sand to much on this project and i didn’t read your idea until after i had already filled it, but I like the idea.

Thanks everyone!
Angela

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