Glue shows thru endgrain. Fix?

[Mark Gibney]

As you'll see in the photo the glue came thru the endgrain on this shelving assembly.

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This is cherry, with one coat of finish before glue-up (the part in the photo has been sanded and rubbed down with alcohol to show the problem). I put three Festool dominos with Gorilla glue to hold the pieces together, and of course the glue came thru the endgrain. I forgot to think about that.

Is there a work-around? - maybe a wash with thinned Gorilla glue?

I'd prefer not to trim off 1/16" and patch it with something but I will if that's your opinion. Vote now!

[Gerry Grzadzinski]

I guess it depends on the finish that you're using, as to how much the finish will darken the end grain.
I've done dovetail drawers with Gorilla glue and used it to seal the endgrain for color consistency. Just spread it on, and wipe it off, then sand after curing. It will definitely darken the endgrain, though.
You can try it on some scrap to see what it will do.

[Jamie Buxton]

You don't need to trim off a sixteenth. Just sand it to remove a surface skin of glue. After you get through that, the glue will be confined to the pores. Most of the surface is not pores, and will give you the true color. At the same time, you also may fix that light area in the lower left. It is likely a place where you still have saw marks.

[Mark Gibney]

Gerry and Jamie - thanks for the advice. I think I'll go with Gerry's idea of spreading Gorilla glue over the exposed endgrain to give it an even coloring. The darkness / lightness of tone doesn't matter, consistency does.

Jamie - that light colored area is just where the alcohol didn't remain between me applying it, putting down the alcohol, picking up my phone and taking the photo. Never said I move fast...

[John Blazy]

You don't need to trim off a sixteenth. Just sand it to remove a surface skin of glue. After you get through that, the glue will be confined to the pores. Most of the surface is not pores, and will give you the true color. At the same time, you also may fix that light area in the lower left. It is likely a place where you still have saw marks.

You are correct, Jamie, if this were a case where glue was sourced at the surface, but in this case, the glue source was from inside the mortise and the thin PUR glue wicked through the pores all the way through to the surface, so sanding it will literally make it worse.

I agree to spread PUR all across the end grain to even it out. Next time, Mark should cut the mortises closer to the inside surface rather than centered within the board thickness, although seeping could still occur. To prevent, maybe pre-seal the end grain with epoxy or finish of choice prior to glue up.

Always visualize wood grain as a bunch of straws glued up. Then you will anticipate all its properties.