Filling cracks on a table top

[chris call]

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I'm a bit frustrated as I've glued my table top together and already put 7 coats of General Finishes Arm-R-Seal on and now I notice there are small cracks that are not being filled. They are where I missed a little jointing the wood before glue-up and they are very small but now they stick out and I'm worried about water ruining this piece over time.

Is there anything I can do to fill these without having to sand back to bare wood? Can I put Arm-R-seal just in the cracks and try to build it up to bridge the gap and then buff things out with 0000 steel wool or should I just acquiesce and sand back to wood and "fix it." Even so, if I do sand back, what would I use to close the gap before moving forward?

Any help is greatly appreciated!

[Jim Becker]

Use a little clear epoxy to fill just proud and a scraper to level after it's cured. Re-coat with the Arm-R-Seal to complete.

[chris call]

Use a little clear epoxy to fill just proud and a scraper to level after it's cured. Re-coat with the Arm-R-Seal to complete.

Thanks for the reply!

Can I do this with the finish still on or do I need to sand back to raw wood, first?

[Jim Becker]

No sanding back. The idea is to just fill the gap, level it with the existing surface (carefully so you don't gouge) with a scraper and then re-coat to get your final smooth surface. Ideally, this would have happened earlier in the process, but the epoxy will bond to the existing finish with no issue. (just clean it first with a little DNA)

[Barry McFadden]

I do mostly turning but when I have small cracks to fill I use this http://www.leevalley.com/en/Wood/page.aspx?p=20024&cat=1,110,42966&ap=1 I use the Special T to fill the crack and when dry if it has sunk in a little i repeat the process a couple of times until it's filled...

[chris call]

No sanding back. The idea is to just fill the gap, level it with the existing surface (carefully so you don't gouge) with a scraper and then re-coat to get your final smooth surface. Ideally, this would have happened earlier in the process, but the epoxy will bond to the existing finish with no issue. (just clean it first with a little DNA)


Awesome. Thanks, I'll go give this a shot!

[chris call]

Thanks! Have you ever tried this after finish has been applied?

[Barry McFadden]

If you mean my post ....yes I have done it sometimes after I've applied WOP and if it didn't fill the crack. I apply the glue and then sand even and apply a couple more coats of WOP....

[John TenEyck]

I have nothing to add to the excellent advise already given. My comment relates to the probability of those cracks coming back to haunt you down the road whether or not you fill them. You've done a beautiful job with the table top and finish, but I fear those cracks are going to open up further over time. Faced with the same situation I would do nothing beyond filling them as you want to do, as long as table was for myself. If it were for a customer, well, there would be a hard decision to make. Start over, inlay some strips of contrasting wood at the joints, add bowties across the cracks, …..

Good luck with it.


John

[Bennett Ostroff]

Another option would be to use those wax filler sticks. I've had a lot of luck with them. Just heat a little with a lighter, rub it in, then buff out with a cloth. It doesn't offer the protection of epoxy or arm-r-seal so the cracks would have to be quite small.

[greg bulman]

Not to hijack thread but is the arm r seal easy the work with? Im about to start finishing a table top?

[chris call]

Sorry it took me so long to reply! It's very easy to work with . Just don't over-brush. If the surface is flat, use a 4" foam brush.

[greg bulman]

Thanks. I've been experimenting with a rag. Will try foam brush. Thanks again.