Shellac sticks for filling chips

[Ken Shoemaker]

I am making some "treasure boxes" for the granddaughters. I got a very small amount of tearout I'd like to repair before I finish them. Has anyone used shellac sticks and burnt them in???

Do you have any insight before I move forward???

Thank you for your help... Ken

[Scott Holmes]

Yeap used 'em quite a bit...

Advice... Practice, practice, practice.

[Faust M. Ruggiero]

Ken,
They're amazing if you get a good color match and practice on scrap. You can even melt a bit of one onto another to blend the color. A real expert would fill in a defect then hand paint a grain over the repair, squirt a coat of lacquer over the top and no one would ever find the repair. The trick is leveling the surface without destroying the surrounding finish. Get a couple coats on the project before filling the void. Melt, fill, then find a way to level. You need a controllable heat source. Special heated knives are sold as are unheated knives you heat with "something". I have a Teflon coated iron used by airplane modelers. I melt the stick onto the tip and smooth in. I usually scrape carefully then sand lightly with 400 grit. Spray a finish coat and you're done.
fmr

[Tony Bilello]

....I got a very small amount of tearout I'd like to repair before I finish them. ... Ken

Burn in sticks are really made for repairs after a piece was finished so that you can get a color match.
So, here is what I do.....put on your first coat of finish. Now you know what your wood will look like. Lightly sand your areas to be filled. Use a "Burn-In Balm" around the surrounding area. The purpose of the burn in balm is two fold. One is to protect the outside areas from burning and two, any excess burn-in stick will easily come off the the outside areas with a light sanding. If you are happy with the color match and sometimes even if you are not, use a graining pen or touch-up powders and padding lacquer (mostly shellac) and draw in a few grain lines to match the surrounding area. Then go ahead with your next coat of finish.

[Ken Shoemaker]

Thanks guys,

I have made three boxes, Oak, Walnut, Cherry, all exactly the same. The cherry and walnut will have two coats of BLO then garnet shellac, and finally Waterlox. The oak will have a coat of Medium Brown Transtint dye, garnet shellac (to give it a warmer look), then Waterlox.

So if I got it right, I should match the shellac stick right after I shellac the piece, making sure I don't sand through any "color". Once the stick is leveled and sanded, one morre coat of garnet shellac, then Waterlox, followed by Single-Malt Sotch and a cigar???

What do you think???? BTW - Thank you for all your help!!!! Ken

[Tony Bilello]

..... I should match the shellac stick right after I shellac the piece, Yes, reason being is that when you shellac, the color of the wood changes. This changed (ambered) color is the one you want to match. Tony Bmaking sure I don't sand through any "color". If you do sand through any color it will be in immediately adjacent to the repair area. It will end up either under the shellac stick or covered with the next coat of shellac. In either case it will be OK. Tony B Once the stick is leveled and sanded, one morre coat of garnet shellac, then Waterlox, followed by Single-Malt Sotch and a cigar??? YES !!!!!!!!!!! Tony B. Ken

Now wasn't that easy? You are quite welcome and just one more tip.....
Usually when I teach woodworking or turning I always tell the students "Do not try to apply the shellac stick (or whatever), just do it. It will go better." Start by taking a deep breath, relax and make like you have done this before.