Glue Marks

[Scott]

Hi All,

I have heard that you can apply wax around the timber joins before gluing to help stop glue marks. I believe this can than be scaped off and cleaned up using turps or white spirits.

Can anyone offer any advice on this as I tend to get heavy handed with gluing up my projects and I'm getting frustrated with the amount of work I have to do to clean-up.

Regards
Scott.

[ozwinner]

Hi
The problem is that the wax will stop the glue sticking to the joint, if you should happen get some wax onto the joint.
Sort of defetes the purpose of glueing.
I only use water based glue, and have a damp rag handy to wipe of any excess.
Cheers, Allan

[AlexS]

I use furniture wax to prevent squeeze-out sticking. It seems to work with all types of glue, but is pretty well essential with epoxy (if you're as messy as me).

Assemple the joints dry and wipe a light coat of wax around them. Avoid getting globs of wax, as they will find their way into the joint and prevent adhesion there. Disassemble, glue up, and after the glue has dried, remove the overflow with a sharp chisel. Then use turps to remove the wax. I routinely use metho to clean the whole piece before finishing, and I guess that helps remove any remaining traces of wax.

[Scott]

Thanks Guys I appreciated your suggestions.

However the next questions I have is, do you always glue up your projects before you apply the finishing?

In my last project I made a small timber pencil box for my son (he has just started school so it was a good excuse to practise polishing). As this project was pretty small I tried polishing the pieces before final assembly. Obviously I taped up the glue areas so as not to polish them and affect the strength of the joints. But Murphy’s Law jumped in and one of the joints didn't fit as well the second time.

Also, when I do use water based glues and wipe down the squeeze out glue it still seems to get into the pours of the timber requiring a lot of sanding later. Should I seal the timber with a sanding sealer before gluing?



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