Nail Blowout Help

[Mark Duksta]

Hello Everyone,

I'm just finishing up a couple of lamps and I messed up. I was using a headless pin nailer to attach strips to hold in the stained glass and a couple of nails went all the way through.

How do I fix this?

The wood is walnut with a little Watco under garnet shellac and all that under a coat of poly.

Any suggestion would be much appreciated.

Mark

[Philip Rodriquez]

Several options: (unless you want to strip down the area).

Option one: Mix 5 minute epoxy with sawdust and patch the area. Some dye can be mixed in to make it darker.
Option two: Use some CA (super glue) and a chip of wood. Again, the dye can be used.

[Mark Duksta]

Hi Philip,

Thanks for the response. I've been doing some research. I think I'm going to try shellac sticks or lacquer sticks. These are used by furniture restorers to fix the problem I have. Basically you melt the stick of matching color into the blemish. Then level it down by scraping or sanding. Supposedly the repair should be near invisible. I'll have to practice the technique before I try it on the real thing.

I tried to pull the nail out from behind, but they would not budge. I snipped the top off of nails then I used a Dremel tool with a very fine grinder to grind the nail below the surface. The holes are very small. I'm hoping I can make the repair seamless.

Again, thanks for the response.

Mark

[kevin loftus]

Can't help with the problem Mark, but I would like
to say your lamps are great. :cool::cool::cool:

[Mark Duksta]

Thanks Kevin,

I'm working on two more right now. This time they'll be made out of mesquite.

I'm really going to watch out while using the nail gun next time. It could have been a lot worse.

Mark

[Mark Duksta]

Hello All. Since this thread didn't get much response on a solution to my nail blow out problem I thought I would share how I solved it. Maybe someone will find it of some use.

I used a hot knife and fill sticks to plug the holes. The fill sticks are of the consistency of a soft plastic. I used the hot knife to melt the stick into the hole.

Once the hole is filled it is leveled with the hot knife. I sanded with 400 grit and sprayed on a top coat of poly. The repair looks like a very small knot. I can spot it right away but know-one else seems to be able to easily find it.

This technique takes a little practice, but works really well.