Hi everyone, I'm new to the forum and would really appreciate some advice. I'm restoring the wood boards and stairs in a house I just bought in London. It's an old victorian house, but the boards are not (unfortunately) the original ones. They could still be very nice, IMO, and they look like pine to me. I've sanded them back to a good state and I just need to fix some holes / imperfections and apply the finish. There are some larger holes and cracks, as well as some smaller holes which, unfortunately, have some white material in them (either old paint or Peelaway, a chemical stripper, which I tried to use to remove some of the paint, but can't now get rid of), which you can see from far away, and I'd like to fill as seamlessly as possible. One of the stair risers is also broken (I can access the back from under the stairs, which might help - definitely can't just use filler without some support from behind). I could use some advice with what to use to really match the colour of the wood ("natural" filler doesn't seem to work, too bright/white), I'm thinking maybe a gel/resin mixed with some sawdust i saved? But would it look good on larger hooles and cracks? I like the natural look of the wood, and definitely want a bright finish, not dark. I have some Ronseal light oak diamond hard varnish, satin, but I wonder if I should go ahead with that or get something else, to maintain a more natural look. I understand there are many options when it comes to finish. Hopefully I can upload enough pictures, so this makes more sense. I really appreciate any help with this, thank you all very much. Lorenzo
in the images you can see the broken riser, holes / cracks, an overview of the project, and also a board that's showing signs of woodworm; probably very old, but I wonder if I should worry about that and apply woodworm treatment before finish. Thanks!
Bona mix amd fill or lecol 7500 if you wanna get high. You mix them with the sawdust and they will be a perfect match. I can’t see the photos for some reason so not sure how big the gaps are that need filling but I’m sure both products will have info on their websites about the max depth it can be used Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Hi merit, thanks a lot for the reply! shame you can't see the images, i would send you a link, but apparently i'm not allowed as a new member, so let me know if there's a way i can send those to you. some cracks are larger than 2mm, so i'm not sure if the Bona would work... getting high is always a plus ahah! maybe i'll try the lecol? i also got some darker filler, someone suggested trying to mix that with the lighter one to get the right colour. I also have some PVA glue already, I could try and use that with the sawdust.. unless you think the results won't be quite the same and will end up falling apart after a few months.
Personally, i prefer the lecol, i find bona takes ages to dry, dries a bit lighter and shrinks whilst drying
Hi Paul, thank you too for the reply! let me know if you are managing to see the photos, otherwise there's something wrong with my upload and i can try again. so do you think lecol + sawdust would be better than using filler, or PVS with sawdust? just asking because i have those already.
