Coffee table repair advice needed.

[JJ1]

I have an old Ercol coffee table that I would like to re-fininsh, probably using Danish Oil or possibly Osmo Polx Oil. Unfortunately the top has a couple of small defects and I've no idea what the best way of repairing them would be. The picture below shows the largest defect and there are a couple of others, about a quarter of that size, on the opposite end of the table. The defects are approximately 1mm deep.
Am I right to believe that using filler would be glaringly obvious? I thought about cutting out a slither of wood from a hidden area on the underside of the table and gluing that in place, but I presume that would be a bit tricky to get the exact size. Another option would be to plane about 1mm off of the top surface to erase the defects. Would that be a good idea?

Any advice on the best way to proceed would be very much appreciated.

 

[Chrispy]

Personally I would rub a bit of coloured hard wax in to fill them and forget about it.

 

[Matt@]

to start with I'd try and steam the dents out so they are less deep. To do this you need to remove the finish first. Hopefully you can reduce the dent depth by 50% by steaming. Then sand the top until perfect. The tops are solid timber so willl easliy take a 1mm sand.

steamng a dent - get some cotton sheet and soak a small section of it in water then use household iron on max and press down on wetted scrunched up cotton sheet over the dent - heat from iron should produce hissing and steam and hopefully less of a dent!!

These tops will finish beautifully due to being solid timber which can be sanded...

 

[Sawyer]

The good news it that it runs along the grain, so that a repair will be inconspicuous as the wood naturally disguises it. Wax sticks are the ideal solution as you can blend colours to get the best match. Get flakes of wax and rub them between finger & thumb, warming and blending the wax until you get the right colour. Push it into the hole and leave to cool, then smooth off with knife or fingernail. Fine sandpaper will remove the shine.

 

[Mr T]

Steaming and wax should do it. I usually leave a little drop of water on the blemish for bout five minutes before steaming as Matt desribes, having removed any finish first.

Chris

 

[JJ1]

Many thanks for all the helpful advice, it's much appreciated

I'll have a go at steaming the dents as a first step and then see how that turns out.


Regarding the wax filler. I'm not familiar with that. Is this the sort of thing that you're referring to http://www.axminster.co.uk/liberon-retouch-crayons? Should it be applied after I've finished oiling the table or before?


One further question if I may. If using either Danish Oil or Osmo Polx as the finish, What grit would you recommend finishing on for the elm top, 180 or should I go higher?