New and need advice on finish

[teisco]

New here and not really a wood worker although I  am handy and can fix most anything and I want to do this repair project myself.

I have a vintage 70's stereo receiver with a wood case - the case is unique in that it has slots cut into the top to vent the heat. These slots are narrow and after someone put something heavy on the top  many are broken.

I do have all the small pieces that were damaged and could put a thin sheet under the damaged area to help secure the replaced broken parts. Now the hard  part - to refinish this case there will be obvious lines or small fissures where the broken parts are glued back together. Is there a putty or filler that would seal these lines and become almost invisible when a final finish is applied,,,or will there always be signs of repair?

Thanks for your time

[Bill Tindall]

 Is there a putty or filler that would seal these lines and become almost invisible when a final finish is applied,,,or will there always be signs of repair?

Are you likely to be able to do the repair with stuff you can get at Lowes and have the filled areas not plainly visible....no.  A skilled furniture repair person would fill with "burn in sticks" to exactly match the color, then add grain lines with a graining brush and stain.  Then the repaired area would be padded with lacquer to match the luster of the surrounding.  A large city would have someone that could do the repair and it would be hard to distinguish.  I think a call to Mohawk would locate the service.  

The case is likely walnut. Best you can probably do is buy some walnut colored filler at Lowes. With a good eye you can blend fillers to get a better match.  I had a receiver like you describe and it was oiled walnut.  Sand the walnut down to 180 grit and apply linseed oil, then wipe off the excess.  Will take several coats over the course of a couple of weeks to build up the finish to the original(as a guess).  The filler never takes stain and finish to match the wood.

[jteneyck]

The finish color might be walnut but the white wood underneath suggests it's something else.  In any case, if you have the pieces then glue them back in with yellow or white glue and make sure to wipe off the squeeze out really well.  When the glue has cured you can use wax sticks to fill in any missing chips, etc. You can blend wax sticks to get any color needed. You can make the repairs less visible by scratching grain lines in the wax to match the surrounding wood.  You can add grain color, if needed, by using a fine artists brush and oil paints.  When you are satisfied with the repairs spray it with rattle can lacquer.  

Test out the whole process on scrap first to make sure it all works before working on the actual piece.  Good luck.  

John

[adamcherubini]

You can try using pva, but I think you will be better off using epoxy. If possible, invert that case on wax paper and do the repair from the bottom. Mix up a epoxy into a loose paste consistency. Focus on the structural bond. Once that’s cured, buy a stick (tube) of the epoxy putty and use that to restore any losses.

Sand and scrape carefully to get the shape right. Then I think I’d use artists oil paint to match the existing finish. You may need a little water based plasti wood wood filler.

What you are doing is one of the hardest repairs you can do. If that was my stereo, I’d find a little sheet of steel or aluminum, I’d paint it black, then trace around it and carefully inlay it into those slats. I’d fix it in place with tiny screws and call it done. The inlay is probably optional, come to think of it. Cover the hole with a piece of steel metal!

[teisco]

Thanks. Looks like a challenge ahead for sure...