[Arran]

Don't forget to scrub the remaining finish out of the grooves and corners with a stiff brush or a pick of some kind or it will foul the new finish, make sure you scrub the rest of the cabinet down too to get rid of any residue. It shouldn't be necessary to remove the front panel to refinish it, I've noticed that the lines on the shaded portions of cabinets were not that exact when they left the factory. Speaking of which laquer thinner already has acetone mixed in with it and a few other things, so really it's just more of the same.
Regards
Arran

[ipwizard]

Lots of careful masking will get the job done. Took me about 30 mins to mask my 71 when I was finishing it.

[Image: http://i1129.photobucket.com/albums/m501...a6d976.jpg]

[Image: http://i1129.photobucket.com/albums/m501...278708.jpg]

[Ron Ramirez]

What brand of tape did you use, Keith?

3M blue will eat into lacquer. Don't ask me how I know this.

Hopefully I can get back to cabinet work soon. Well, as soon as I finish this massive 41-616 chassis project, that is.

[Arran]

What brand of tape did you use, Keith?

3M blue will eat into lacquer. Don't ask me how I know this.

Oh I know how you know this, I've had similar problems with blue tape that I did not have with the green tape or even the white tape. There were no problems with latex paint but it sure did not like the laquer, fortunately it wasn't on anything like a newly refinished cabinet when I found this out.
Regards
Arran

[Ron Ramirez]

Just to bring you folks up to speed...if you recall, I stripped my Tropic 42-761EZ and my 19B back in May.

I then proceeded to get my 41-616 to a point where it was working, but still needs some fine-tuning.

By then, it was June, and the long, relentless heat wave/drought was starting.

Since then...all I've done is to glue a back corner of the Tropic where a glue joint had come loose, and managed to get the front panel free from the rest of the cabinet on the 19B to make it easier to deal with.

Today, I was determined to start the grain fill procedure.

I opened the can of Constantine's wood filler...it was yellowed and all but completely dried out.

The can went straight into the garbage.

And guess what? Constantine's no longer carries their wood (grain) filler in walnut...only Red Mahogany and Black.

So...I ordered some CrystaLac from one supplier...and some Behlens grain filler from another. I'll try both and see which one I like best. Of course this means that, since both are water-based instead of oil-based as with the Constantine's product, I'll probably have another learning curve ahead of me in using this stuff.

[PhilcoMike]

Ron,

I am wondering out loud on a couple of points.
Could you reconstitute the walnut grain filler with a little lacquer thinner to get the job done?
To get small pieces of matching veneer I wonder if it could be harvested from the front panel insert where it mounts from behind?

Thanks,

Mike

[Ron Ramirez]

Mike

I started wondering the same thing about the old can of filler after I wrote my last post, so I pulled it out of the trash. Tonight, I'll add some liquid chemicals to the can, let it sit, and see what happens.

But I've been wanting to try CrystaLac anyway, so this gives me the opportunity to do so.

[Steve Davis]

Ron, I will be waiting for your report on the CrystaLac and Behlens water base fillers. I have been using Behlens oil based grain filler for some time. Lately I've been thinking about trying a water base filler.

Steve

[Ron Ramirez]

I'll let you know as soon as the stuff arrives. I'll try CrystaLac first, on the 19B front panel. Perhaps I'll use the Behlens product on the 42-761EZ.

[Eliot Ness]

Ron, I was talking to Kenny Richmond the other night and he mentioned that he's now using CrystaLac and likes it pretty well. Keep us posted....

[ipwizard]

What brand of tape did you use, Keith?

3M blue will eat into lacquer. Don't ask me how I know this.

I used the 3M blue painters tape. I haven't had any trouble with the tape eating into the lacquer. I have also used the green Frog (?) tape which works well.

Maybe its the dry air here and the fact the a coat of lacquer dry's about as soon as it hits the wood.

[TA Forbes]

I recently had the same problem with the "blue" tape, and attribute it to the humidity. With a complete day of drying the problem stopped.

[Ron Ramirez]

OK folks,

I now have a quart of CrystaLac, a quart of Behlens brown water-based grain filler, and an 8 oz. jar of Timber Mate walnut wood filler.

I decided to try the Timber Mate as it was advertised as a grain filler, and the price seemed reasonable ($7.39). On the side of the jar, it states that Timber Mate is a wood putty, grain filler, sanding sealer and crack filler. I'll try it out later.

But now, I have a progress report for you on the 19B front panel.

As I stated previously, I used CrystaLac on the 19B front panel. It goes on bluish-white, but dries clear. I tried using an old credit card to scrape off the excess. It required sanding to remove all of the residue. Still left a fair amount of grain showing.

I found on the second coat that scraping with a razor blade worked better than sanding. Still, there was some grain showing.

I gave it a third coat. I had read about wiping the excess off with a cloth, so I tried that. Still left some grain lines.

So on the fourth application of the stuff, this time I just glopped it on, let it harden, then scraped off the excess with a razor blade again. This worked well and I now have a very smooth 19B front panel that looks very good. Even though the CrystaLac is clear, the grain lines are still dark as they should be. I'll see how smooth the panel is tomorrow when I spray some Mohawk Perfect Brown Ultra Classic on it.

This is all well and good...but how am I going to handle the curved portions of the top/sides with a razor blade? I'm thinking about trying the Behlens or Timber Mate on the top/sides of the 19B while using more CrystaLac on the (flat) front arch and front side sections of the 19B cabinet.

I'm sure my inability to properly squeegee the excess off or wipe the excess off is largely due to using a product for the first time and not really knowing what I am doing.

I really, really wish there was a clear and easy to understand tutorial for using this stuff available somewhere...like a "CrystaLac for Dummies" or "Water-Based Grain Filling for Dummies."

But then again, I never felt I did a really good job with the Constantines oil-based grain filler last year, until I got to my Philco 53C which was one of the last cabinets I refinished in 2011. That one turned out very smooth...very nice...especially considering the cabinet was a wreck when I started working on it.

[Steve Davis]

Ron, many times, using the oil based filler, I have had to use more than one application. Sometimes it takes two applications plus a spot fill.

Steve

[Ron Ramirez]

Understood. But what I would like to see is someone who knows what they are doing put together a good tutorial on the proper techniques of applying grain filler and removing the excess.

I fail to see how some folks are able to get rid of the CrystaLac excess without leaving a lot of residue, yet some claim to to be able to do this and not need to sand afterwards. I don't see how you can avoid sanding or scraping.

All that having been said, I didn't mention the positive aspects of CrystaLac...and I need to.

Main advantage: Fast drying. You can apply multiple coats of CrystaLac in the time it would take to apply one coat of oil-based grain filler, scrape the excess, wait until the next day for the second coat. In that time you can apply a coat of CrystaLac, remove excess, let dry for an hour or two, scrape or sand (or both), apply a second coat, repeat, apply a third coat, repeat. Next day, do a fourth coat if needed, or spot fill, remove excess. Let dry overnight and apply lacquer the day after.

Secondary advantage: Less toxic fumes. Debbie couldn't stand the fumes of the Constantine's oil-based filler, yet she barely noticed the fumes from the CrystaLac. You guys know that women have ultra-high senses of smell. So this is a definite plus.