Bring out the beauty in your woodwork

Press, 9 May 1985, Page 29

Bring out the beauty in your woodwork

A clear lacquer finish brings out the beauty of the timber grain in the internal woodwork of your home. Whether the timber finish is by hand-dressing or by machine, the surface should be well finished by scraping and sanding to a flat even finish.

Scraping is done with a cabinet-maker’s scraper—a flat piece of steel with the edges turned over to form a cutting burr. This is a cheap and very effective tool. All nail and screw holes and cracks should be filled with linseed oil and putty, tinted to match the finished wood colour, with either dry pigmented colours or ground in oil. Quick-drying proprietary stoppings are also available. The next step is filling the grain. This is not absolutely necessary and is usually omitted when dealing with very fine-grained timbers such as cypress pine, coachwood or kauri.

It may also be omitted where a dull finish is desired.

Most plastic finishes have good filling power, and filling may be omitted when using two or more coats of these as a final finish. The use of a filler, however will improve the fine gloss of all finishes, as it provides an even foundation

for the first coat instead of the relatively rough surface of natural wood.

With coarse-grained timbers, filling is very necessary if a smooth, glossy surface is to be obtained.

An easy to use and most satisfactory filler is a cream made by mixing fine whiting powder with thinned linseed oil. The mix is as follows:

One part linseed oil by volume, one part of terebine by volume, one part mineral turpentine by volume and four parts whiting. Tint to the required colour by using small amounts of "dry colours” of red, brown or yellow shades either alone or mixed together: red oxide (deep red), brick red, yellow orche (creamy yellow), burnt umber (dark brown), burnt sienna (reddish brown) and black.

After mixing, the filler should be coloured by dry colours, oil colours, or oil paint to a shade similar to, or darker than the wood will be when clear-finished. A colour lighter than that of the timber will give an unnatural appearance. This creamy mixture is spread evenly over the wood surface by rubbing vigorously across the grain. After about 10 minutes,

the excess will begin to dry, and this is the time to rub it across the grain before it hardens further. If well done, there should be none left on the surface, and the pores should be filled up and inconspicuous. This filling method is easy to carry out and may be used beneath all surface finishes so long as it is allowed to dry well—about 24 hours are usually necessary, but shellac may be applied sooner. Various quick-drying proprietary fillers may be bought. These are generally satisfactory, but because they dry rapidly the excess must be sanded off when dry instead of being rubbed off wet, as with the oil filler.

The use of oil-based filler is an easy and desirable process, and when set, needs only a light rub with fine sandpaper to form a perfect base for further finishes.

In most instances, it will be found that it acts as an efficient sealer under wax polish. Under varnish or “plastic,” the filler will replace the first of the usual two or three-coat system. It is most important that both sides of panels be sealed, since wood swells when absorbing moisture and shrinks when dried. Changes in the weather tend to alter the dimensions of timber, and this effect is magnified in wide boards and panels, such as cupboard doors and table tops.

It is important to coat timber furniture on all faces, and this is particularly advisable with wide boards.