filling tear out?

[Paul F Mills]

Sorry for the upside down photo, I am posting from my iPad and cannot get it to rotate.

After milling, planing, and sanding this walnut, there are lots of little gaps, I guess tear out from milling and planing. There are some cracks that I will fill with epoxy, but what do I do about the tear out that is on a much larger scale?

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(EDIT: Rotate photo)
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[robert wiggins]

Historically shellac sticks have been used to fill those voids that tear out around knots.

[Jim Becker]

How you fill is going to be affected by how you plan on finishing the walnut. What are your thoughts there?

[Paul F Mills]

I will be applying General Finishes poly.
And the tear out is across a much larger area than around the knots.

[Bennett Ostroff]

That looks to me like nicely sanded walnut without tear out...those gaps being the natural open grain in walnut.

But for mild tear out, you could try a thin coat of epoxy then sanding back. Or even a couple thick brushed coats of the General Finishes poly, then sanded back a bit.

Another option is to find a shop with a belt sander wide enough to run a few passes.

I’ve found that wiping the surface with a rag is a really good way to find small tear outs. If something catches a rag, it should be addressed.

[Paul F Mills]

Bennett, it is good to know it may not be tear out. It is pretty consistent over the surface so it would make sense that it is just the open grain. I would still like to fill it in some many however.

I did another desk with a similar, but not as noticeable, issue and used MinWax wipe on poly. It looked better after finishing but you can still see the openness of it at some angles. Do you think the General Finishes fill some of those better than a wipe on?

[John K Jordan]

Bennett, it is good to know it may not be tear out. It is pretty consistent over the surface so it would make sense that it is just the open grain. I would still like to fill it in some many however.

I did another desk with a similar, but not as noticeable, issue and used MinWax wipe on poly. It looked better after finishing but you can still see the openness of it at some angles. Do you think the General Finishes fill some of those better than a wipe on?

What about a grain filler made for that? Some people swear by Aqua Coat:
https://www.amazon.com/Aqua-Coat-Fil.../dp/B00LEFWGWA
(Read the comments)

For walnut I use a gooey walnut colored grain filler (can't remember the name) that is wiped on and pressed into the pores with a plastic squeegee or piece of something stiff and flexible. It dries quickly. It (actually any of these fillers) can fill the pores to the surface so you can put a mirror-like polished finish on it if you want. I prefer to wipe it with a coarse rag so the pores are mostly but not completely filled so after my finial finish I can still see the pores a little in glancing light - to me that is part of the charm of walnut. (I use it on woodturnings.) For a flat surface I've also applied multiple coats of some finish and wet sanded with very fine paper (600 or finer) between coats to cut the finish back so it's level with the pores, but that's a lot of work - the grain filler is faster.

JKJ

[Phil Mueller]

+1 to what John suggests. I use a walnut colored grain filler, or color a filler to a very dark brown. If you’re going for a glass finish, it will likely take a few applications, and even then may need to have the first finish coat sanded back.

[Jim Becker]

The grain filler will work, but because you are using an oil based finish, I personally would put the first coat of finish on before putting the filler in so that absorption of the finish into the wood evenly isn't compromised. That does require you use a filler that's compatible with your intended finishing product relative to adhesion...especially given anything with polyurethane doesn't even like to stick to itself sometimes. Check with GF to see what they recommend for a filler to be used with the GF poly.

[John TenEyck]

I agree with others who said that's just the open grain of your walnut, not tearout. Looks very nicely sanded, too. If you plan to use an oil based varnsh I suggest you do as Jim suggested and use an oil based grain filler, too. I would start by applying a coat of shellac first. Then the grain filler, then another coat of shellac, or straight to your varnish. Look at Behlen's Pore-O-Pac or Old Masters fillers; both work very well.

John

[Paul F Mills]

I believe the General Finishes poly I am using is water based (or that is what the guy at Woodcraft said) so I am not sure if that changes anything. I will look into the Aqua Coat or similar. I do not really mind the open pores but thought it was tear out. Now that I know it is not, I kind of want to fill it just to do it.

I started filling actual cracks yesterday with epoxy. Some are deep and I will need to top them off today.

[Phil Mueller]

If you want to pursue a filler, you can also look into either TimberMate or Wunderfil...they both come in Walnut and are water based.

[Ted Phillips]

I'm with Phil here. I like TimberMate - it is water based, doesn't spoil in the container, and is invisible to almost all finishes. Just add a little water and stir to get a consistency of mayonnaise, then trowel it on with a plastic scraper. Sand back to bare wood and the pores will be smooth. Finish using whatever you like.