I tried a few tests while waiting;

Filling wise. I use a product made by Elmer's called Fill'n'Finish.
It's a water based wood filler. Comes in a light and dark version.
I've had good results with it.

I used the dark version and tint it with acrylic artists colors. You
only need a very tiny amount to tint the filler to black or whatever
colour you want. Apply with a putty knife, scrape off the excess and
Let it dry about 15 minutes, then sanded with 320. Applied the Watco
as per the instructions and it's beautiful and like touching a piece
of satin. Problem, the Watco did not color the wood as deeply as the
store/brochure sample.

Just to note: If I filled without the tinting medium "which I tried".
I got the expected result. I lost the grain almost completely.

I think I'll have to stick with my current finishing process. Dye,
sealing, filling, sealing, glazing, then top coating. It's a PITA
but at least I have better color control and I get the results I'm
looking for.

I'll save the Watco for some Walnut... at a later date.


Pat


On Thu, 25 Nov 2004 16:07:50 -0500, "George" george@least wrote:

Fill first, stain later. Check on scrap rather than your project, but I
should think something like the plaster-of-Paris fillers would certainly
out-absorb the wood for the effect you want. Oil-based fillers might not
take as much.


"SawDust" wrote in message
.. .


I have a Red Oak cabinet "nearing completion". Today I finally
found a source for Watco products in my area. Thought I'd give it a
test to see how this product works.

So I bought Watco Black Walnut Danish Oil. Looking at the sample's.
The black Walnut is exactly the color I am looking for. I can do
this color with dye and gel stain. But would like to try the Watco
product.

The question I have is this. I want to fill the grain of this red
oak. I also want the grain to be as dark as possible. I have tinted
filler to do this previously with good results.

So what sequence do I follow. Do I fill the grain with the tinted
filler first, or after I use the danish oil. If someone could
explain the sequence it would be appreciated.

Pat