Modern Woodworking, in cooperation with the Woodweb, presents how-to articles on sanding and finishing—problems and solutions to common woodworking situations encountered in the day-to-day work process. The solutions come from you, the hands-on experienced workers who deal with these specific problems and have found particular ways of solving them. For more information, or to add your own solutions, please contact us through the web at Modernwoodworking.com, or www.woodweb.com.
Question:
“I have a new employee who just loves to sand through veneer along edges. Most of the time it is very slight—one inch by three-quarters inch. Most of it is on walnut, mahogany and cherry that get a natural finish. The product is 3/4 veneer plywood. I have tried touch-up, but you still can see the repair. I have tried blending powders with qualasole, but the color is never right. It always looks painted. What am I doing wrong?”
Industry Responses:
Response A advises: “Your touch-up is not blending in with the surrounding wood. You have to predict what the final color of the project is. Then you have to look at that color closely, breaking it down into at least three colors: (1) base color or background color; (2) middle color; (3) grain color. You need to develop a technique of layering these colors when doing touch up. You also have to carve in the texture using an X-Acto knife or razor blade.
“I also use blendal powders, but I use M.L. Campbell Vinyl Sealer as my binder, not qualasole. There is a color shift of the powders as the padding lacquer dries. This color shift does not happen when you use lacquer or vinyl sealer as your color medium. But if you are padding the color in (or finger-padding), then you need the padding lacquer.”
Response B advises: “We have had the same problem. We use an edge planer and set it at about 1/16” to 1/32” deep. Then we cut a piece of corresponding size on the table saw and glue it on. When the glue is dry, we sand it off flush and it’s good to go. This is not the cheapest way to do it, but the best way we have found by far.”
