Filling holes in wood 2

[Storyline]

I have seen the previous post regarding holes in a mast. I have a hole problem also. Mine are countless screw holes in a sapele interior. The boat has been used for sail training so there were countless useful odds and ends screwed on.

I am scraping off the old varnish with a hot air gun.

I have the following choices.

1. Find a colour match using stopping.

2. Find a colour match using wax crayon.

3. Make a lot of sawdust from a spare piece of sapele and mix with some kind of colourless binder.

4. If using sawdust method what alternatives (colourless) are there to epoxy? I feel epoxy is going to be too hard and may take too much sanding which may damage the wood surrounding the holes.

5. Fill the holes before or after scraping off the existing varnish?

6. Hide the holes and turn the boat into a floating art gallery

Any thoughts guys?

 

[2nd_apprentice]

I use this one:

Very easy to use, looks a bit like honey

click

 

[nimbusgb]

I had the same problem, decided to re-veneer the entire boat!

refit

 

[kds]

I had no success with that link !
ken

 

[johnlilley]

Cut plugs from same timber type, drill and glue in plugs. Can be almost invisible if the right timber is chosen and the bored hole is clean and exactly the right size. Plug cutters available in most sizes from 6mm - 12mm quite easily. Make sure you align the grain on the plug and take care levelling off after gluing.

John Lilley

 

[Storyline]

Thanks John
I will try your method for the larger holes that are bored through prominent pieces.
I have spoken to the Tonkinois guy again and am going to try making some fine sawdust and mixing it with balcotan for the small screw holes. I plan to take some before and after pics and post them if I have any success!

 

[andrewbodenham]

Balcotan will not work for that application. It is a polyurethane glue which foams on curing, so if you mix it with sawdust and press it into a hole it will just froth up and come out again. For internal filling I'd try one of the waterproof aliphatic glues like Titebond3, or a slow setting superglue. The sawdust & glue method can work well - but the resulting filler will always finish darker than the surrounding wood. Not such a problem on dark timbers. For non structural & minor holes I prefer to use a ready mixed wood filler - Osmo make a water-based one which is excellent, and in a good range of colours. But for a "proper" repair you can't beat cutting a matching plug from scrap timber and gluing it in. A good range of cutters and drill are available from Axminster Power Tools (axminster.co.uk)

 

[Storyline]

Thanks bodfish
The guy from Tonkinois did say to cover the hole with some kind of physical stop to prevent the foaming.
I reckon on trying 3 methods - have checked the colour range from osmo and I reckon there are 3 that could make a good match so not too expensive to have an experiment. They do white also so I reckon I could mix an accurate shade.
I have just discovered Axminster - very efficient with a huge range of specialist stuff. Could spend a fortune!!

 

[absit_omen]

I go along with John's solution. The bonus is that even if you can see the plug, it is not offensive and looks like it is intended to be there.

Of course you do not need telling to align the grain! /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

 

[lesweeks]

Only as a last resort would I ever use wood flour from the sander (as opposed to sawdust which is a real no-no) for filling holes. It always goes darker than the original, sinks on setting, never takes the finish the same way and looks so un-natural it almost pokes you in the eye.
Drill and plug carefully. It always looks 'real' and if done well, where it really matters, becomes almost invisible.