Using wax to fill gaps in wood

[Mr. Foxen]

Heading a bit toward furniture stuff here, but anyone used wax to fill gaps in woo? For my Wishbass, dunno whether to fill then sand, so maybe wood dust sticks in the wax, or leave till sanding is done.

[Mikey R]

Are you sure wax is the right product for the job? It wont really harden if left in a clump.

Ive never done this myself, but Ive seen voids filled with sawdust, then a drop of liquid superglue. Ive also seen coloured epoxy used to fill voids, which has the advantage of stabilising any punky bits. Depends if you want to refinish after filling, I guess both of these methods would probably need sanding back to bare wood once the glue has dried.

[soopercrip]

There are wax crayons used by carpenters to fill and repair furniture, I used some myself on a bookmatched top with good results.
A friend is a cabinet maker and he lent me a set he had to match the colours of the walnut I used. Took some time softening and running into the joint
and matching the grain, but the end result was worth it. Once laquer had hardened over it was fine. Be aware that the wood colour will change slightly when laquered, try and allow for that.
Kits are available (briwax or Konig are a couple of makers), but for the amount you would need I would seek out an 'old school' carpenter/cabinet maker, and loan a set.
Andy

[paulflan0151]

when you say gaps, do you mean the grain or notches or holes in the wood? Also, what wood is it?

[henry norton]

I used to use wax repair sticks for furniture (when I worked in the furniture industry, not on musical instruments). They work well for small to medium cracks or nicks. Regarding the Wish bass, it depends on what you're doing with it. If you're sanding it to give it a sprayed on finish I would avoid wax sticks like the plague, but if you just need to repair a small ding in a naturally finished body, then I don't see why not. [url="http://www.axminster.co.uk/liberon-liberon-shellac-filler-sticks-prod23270/"]http://www.axminster.co.uk/liberon-liberon-shellac-filler-sticks-prod23270/[/url] This is what I used to use.

[Mr. Foxen]

Finish will be danish oil. I'll have a lot of sawdust so superglue/epoxy and that is probably the way to go.

[Big_Stu]

[quote name='Mr. Foxen' timestamp='1319291726' post='1412337']
Finish will be danish oil. I'll have a lot of sawdust so superglue/epoxy and that is probably the way to go.
[/quote]
If it's just to fill holes or gaps you don't want I'd be more inclined towards a PVA based woodglue & use as fine sawdust as you can. If you've got bits off the actual wood/body then cut it up with a hacksaw & mix the dust as thick as you can with PVA. The wood-glue in a green bottle made by Evostik is excellent. Done it too many times to count & it's never failed.

[Slipperydick]

When I was an apprentice we used to use heelball wax, from the cobblers to repair, or at least hide damage to finished furniture, But these days theres bound to be better, if its under the finish youd be better of with some of the things already mentioned ime.

[Andyjr1515]

Sawdust mixed with a hard setting glue (eg superglue or epoxy) can work well. I personally wouldn't use PVA because I find it a b****r to sand (it can remain very plastic) - but that might be my technique! However, I do find with the darker colours of woods, the result can sometimes be lighter than the original and, preferably, the fill should be slightly darker.
The best commercial filler I've found is Timbermate (sold in UK as Metolux) 'Premium Joiners Grade 1 Part Wood Filler'. It comes in various colours, but also as 'stainable', where you just mix in your stain into the paste to make it the colour you want. There are some good Youtube video clips of it (search under Timbermate). I recently used it to fill some dark walnut and used Camp Coffee as the stain - bit of a mistake as it took ages to set but my guitar is now visually gap free and smells just like a good like a good cup of Starbucks

[rubis]

Try Titebond Original (looks like custard) its the glue which a lot of guitar builders use and mix it with fine sawdust from your guitar into a paste, its sands very well and takes a finish easily. If you have any little dents you can steam them out with a steam iron and wet tea towel, works a treat but it will raise the grain so do it before your final sanding.

[Mikey R]

Might be worth checking the danish oil plays nicely wirh whatever you use as a filler. danish oil works by penetrating below the surface of the wood, the filler may stop this.

[Mr. Foxen]

At the moment, I'm putting glue in and sanding over it, see how that turns out.