Guilding the lilly?

[Juan Hovey]

If wood grain filler is mostly oil, why go to the trouble of topping it with more oil? Why not go straight to a French polish?

I'm finishing up the woodwork for another infill plane, this one with cocobolo, and got to wondering just what one accomplishes in applying wood grain filler - Old Masters, in this case - to an oily wood like cocobolo. Wood grain filler is mostly oil, and in applying it I get two benefits, it seems to me: I get a baby-butt-smooth surface, and I get oil into the wood.

But having got oil into a wood that comes to the party full of it to begin with, why add more? Why not let the stuff cure for a week or so and then start in on a French polish?

Here's what the wood looks like after I let the wood grain filler dry for a couple of hours and then buffed it out. What think you?
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[John TenEyck]

The tech data sheet for Old Masters Filler says it's 73 - 74% solids by volume, so it's not mostly oil. Quite the opposite. http://www.myoldmasters.com/resources/oldmasters_woodgrain_filler_tech_data.pdf

John

[Jim Becker]

The oil content in the filler doesn't really matter if it doesn't give you the look you want...work with scraps of your project material to work out your finishing regimen BEFORE you start applying anything to the real project... ;)

[John Coloccia]

I'm not sure what you mean by French polish, because a lot of people use the term differently, but there are some woods, like ebony and cocobolo, that you generally don't really need to finish at all. You can just sand them smooth, buff them, and they're great. In fact, I'm not sure I've ever actually applied a finish to cocobolo or ebony.

[Juan Hovey]

Gents: Thanks to one and all for your responses.

John TenEyck: You're right: It's not mostly oil, but it's a lot nonetheless, and the question remains, do you need more to make cocobolo sing? Out of caution, my answer is: Be safe and give it at least one coat, lightly wet-sanded.

Jim: I keep all my rejects nearby on which to practice when I'm not sure. They're on the shelf marked "This Is How You Don't Do This Stuff, Schmuck."

John C: I mean French polish done pretty much the old fashioned way, and I give even my cocobolo infills a French polish, cut back from high gloss to something like a satin sheen with 0000 steel wool and wax, in an effort to make the finish withstand harsh use in the shop.

[Lee Reep]

I've not used a wood filler since high school woodshop, and then it was used on oak with really open grain. The solids in the filler certainly leveled the surface prior to final finishing. My only experience with cocobolo is turning pens from it, and it finishes beautifully with just a super fine sanding, and buffing. I'm not sure a wood filler buys you anything with cocobolo.

I want to hear more from others about wood fillers, and how they use them. I never use them, but I might if I did anything in oak. I just don't hardly consider it for anything anymore.