Chipped Wood, Knot Holes, Deep Splits

¶ Chipped Wood, Knot Holes, Deep Splits, etc. Sometimes these defects and others caused by nails and deep scratches must be repaired in old or new surfaces. The first step is to take a sharp knife and clean out the damaged space so as to remove all splinters and loose wood fibres. Such loose wood fibre will take a stain darker than solid wood and will prevent getting a perfect job if not removed. Have the hole clean and smooth coat it with a stain mixed to match the old or new finish to be put on in color but make the stain lighter than the new or old color. You can never strike it just right in color because the subsequent coats of shellac, wax or varnish will darken the color. So make it too light and then you can darken the coats to follow and repeat them until a perfect color match has been made. The stain is made by dissolving the dry aniline stain powders in denatured alcohol. The more color you put in the darker the finish will be.

¶ The furniture repair kit should be completed by filling each of the bottles with the denatured alcohol. Then put into each bottle 1 heaping teaspoonful of dry aniline color. Only one color to the bottle, of course. You will then have a fairly strong stain of each of the eight colors and you will also have some dry stain powder left for making stronger solutions and for replacing the original contents of the bottles. By mixing these stain solutions in various proportions you can match any finish color wanted. The Bismarck brown, for instance, is a deep, rich red. By adding to it some of the black you can match any shade of red mahogany and by addition of walnut brown you can match any of the brown mahogany shades. By mixing black and orange you make rich brown shades also and a bit of Bismarck brown will give it a reddish hue. A little experimenting will teach you how to produce any color effect needed. Test your mixtures by dipping narrow strips of white blotting paper into it. When the color is right, add an equal amount of white shellac to it and apply this stain to the spot of wood to be repaired, using the camel hair brush. Put on a thin coating first and let it dry. If too light, apply another coat and repeat as often as is necessary, keeping the color lighter always than the finished surface. If the damaged place is shallow like scratches it can be built up by repeated coats, letting each one dry, until the surface is level.

¶ When dry a repair made as above should be rubbed by coating it with a mixture of FF pumice stone and paraffin oil, sweet oil or light sewing machine oil. Use a soft piece of felt to rub with. Rub this repair in the same direction as the original rubbing was done on old finishes. Don't rub much. Wipe up the surface clean often to inspect it, For a final rub on a real dull finished surface use the oil alone on the palm of the hand. If a highly polished surface clean up after the rubbing with the oil and polish to a good gloss with a soft flannel cloth. In the case of large panels, cabinet and table tops it is well to rub the entire panel to make a better match.

¶ In this sort of finishing repair work on the weathered and mission finishes which are finished without filler and with open pores care must be taken to mark the filling coats with, the knife so that it matches the surrounding surface. Only about half as much shellac can be used in the stain coat on these surfaces. The marking of the pores or grain may be done with a dull table knife or a small screw driver. At any rate don't make a solid, smooth filling in a surface which is broken up generally with pores. You have practically got to draw the pores and grain marks on the filling you put into scratches, especially those across the grain. After making a repair on such a surface coat it with wax and rub to a hard luster to match the surrounding surface. Often it is well to rewax the whole panel or board.

¶ Deep holes, chipped-out places and large cracks must be filled on new or old wood with wood cement or shellac sticks. This cement is made of shellac and rosin colored to match the standard finishes. It is much like the sealing wax used for letters and packages but of much more transparent quality. Shellac sticks are made in more than fifty colors and you can get color cards from the manufacturers showing just what is available. The cheaper grades do not work right. Good sticks will not gum up or soften when sandpapered, the cement can be rubbed and polished and it will not only remain tenaciously in the hole or crack but will not chip or crack.

¶ To make this kind of a repair clean out the hole, removing all loose splinters as before. Then with the electric soldering iron or the alcohol lamp melt the proper colored shellac stick into the hole to completely fill it, but don't put in any more than is necessary to level it with the surrounding surface. A second filling can be made and any excess put on can be cut off with a sharp chisel or knife. Also the fining can be finally smoothed and leveled with sandpaper. It is best to stain the hole and the wood around it before filling, using a stain of the same color as will be used for finishing the whole surface, but a little lighter. Let the stain dry before filling with cement. The cement filling will dry immediately but can be smoothed out with the hot blade of the table knife or a small spatula. The cutting down with a sharp chisel and with sandpaper must be done after the cement has set, of course.

¶ After the repair filling has been put into place and finished as level and smooth as possible mix a stain for the whole surface and finish as usual if a new surface. If it is an old surface mix your stain with the spirit colors and shellac as suggested previously, blending and matching colors and applying coat after coat until the exact match has been made with the old surface. Apply the stain deftly and a perfect job can be done.