Resanding and Refinishing with Osmo

[ear3]

So i finished the first of the two walnut shelves I was commissioned to build:

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After I finish the second one I may work up a fuller post in the Member Projects subforum, since, despite the simplicity of the design, it was actually quite a challenge to get things right on such a long piece (100") -- boards had to be milled perfectly straight and the joinery balanced between ease of assembly and strength.

Anyway, after finishing it with two coats of Osmo, I noticed a small dent in the face that is really bugging me:

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I was thinking i could sand it out and refinish it, but I'm worried about a color mismatch between the treated areas and the parts I would not touch.  So I'm wondering if I could do something like this:

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The blue tape would segregate the area which I would sand out completely and refinish, and prevent any bleed through.  Does this sound right?  Or do i risk creating an ugly line of demarcation between the two areas that would be obvious once I ripped the tape off?  Maybe [member=11196]Peter Parfitt[/member] has some experience correcting mistakes in Osmo?

Thanks for any advice.

 

[tjbnwi]

That dent appears fairly deep. You would need to sand it out at least 8" each direction to avoid a visible divot in the piece.

Consider hot stick repair.
http://www.mohawk-finishing.com/catalog_browse.asp

Other option;

Baking soda tinted to match the finish, allow it to dry, crush it back into a powder, place some of the powder into the divot, top with a couple of drops of CA, buff, repeat until level, the grain can be add with a marker.

Tom

 

[deepcreek]

Ed,

It would drive me crazy, too.

That being said, anything you do to "fix" it could very easily make it worse and draw more attention to it.

I'm not sure you can just sand it out without creating a noticeable dip.

I have heard of steaming out dents but don't know the details.  Might be worth a Google search.

Osmo is supposed to be repairable.  Remember it was developed as a floor finish.  Contact Peter in U.S. technical support and see what he says.

Good luck!

Joe

 

[Stone Message]

Hi Edward

What a pity about that little dent.

Refinishing with the Osmo should be easy as I have done it several times after getting the odd scratch during the delivery process of the odd item. I use a piece of 150 or 180 grit, by hand, just to kiss the area to be touched up. For me that would usually be about an inch all round the damaged area. I then wipe on a very thin coat of Osmo in that area going about another inch beyond the kiss sanded area. I had to do this on the walnut desk after it was installed.

The dent is a different scenario. If it bugged me so much that I had to treat it I would do this. Clean the area and the inside of the dent by sanding gently - 1" all round and thoroughly into the dent itself. Fill with the closest match filler to the lighter grain. Let it harden and sand flat. Take some touch up pencils (or whatever you have - I have some made for the job but often use good quality crayons) and get the background colour right across the whole of the filled area. Then take darker pencils to recreate the grain. I have found that when my repair artwork is done it is a good idea to gently rub it to blend everything in but do it carefully. After this, wipe on a very thin coat of Osmo, let it dry and decide if that area needs a second very thin wiped on coat.

Good luck.

Peter

 

[Bohdan]

Another alternative to removing dents in timber is to steam them out. Use a small damp cotton cloth folded several times and heat it with a normal iron (as used for ironing clothes). Don't use the steam from the iron as it might affect too large an area. You just want to generate some steam that will cause the crushed timbers to swell. After the dent has disappeared sand flat and refinish if necessary. I don't know what effect the Osmo coating will have on the process so I'm not sure if you need to remove it first.

 

[CrazyLarry]

Edward,

I'd go for a combination approach, as Peter says a light touch with sand paper around the dent, then gently steam in to swell it up, you may find this takes several light gentle attempts to bring it level. Then let it air dry. You might then need to repeat.

Once it is proud / level when dried, then lightly level and redress with osmo using a cloth on cloth off. The lighter the coats of osmo you apply the faster it is ready for another and the easier it is to blend and match.

Sometimes a 320 grit across the boundary between new and old, followed by another wipe on wipe off across a larger area, will also help create a uniform appearance.

This is assuming of course, a neutral / natural finish.

L

 

[ear3]

Thanks for all the advice!  Sounds like there are multiple ways to skin this cat, so I'm pretty confident I will be able to devise some fix.