Hiding crack lines?

[polkat]

Usually when I repair cracks in plates (or elsewhere), I can work the crack so close that after gluing they have vertually disappeared. But once in a while, even if the crack is nicely refitted, I'll still get a hair line that doesn't really look like a part of the grain. Sometimes scraping or light sanding will make it go away, sometimes not. Other then in blending the refinish, what are some methods of hiding these?

Thanks!

[FiddleDoug]

It's quite difficult to make some things disappear. Make sure that your cracks are clean before gluing. Use peroxide, bleach, oxalic acid (NOT mixed together!!!) to clean dirty cracks. After that, its all in the retouching. Cost me about $1500 for a week long class on retouching, and it's too complicated to explain here. Real experts at it can make defects virtually disappear.

[Magnus Nedregard]

Yes, you need to know whether the line you see comes from something in the wood crack or is in the varnish layer. As Doug above says it is absolutely necessary that the crack is clean... take another look and tell us whether what you see is due to

- dirt (even slight darkening of the "walls" in the crack can make it show up. Or glue might gather particles from the surronding surface as you apply it, and thus make the joint evident. - One of the reasons you should clean the surrounding area as well as the crack, even when it looks reasonably clean.)

- misalignment (even a minimal one makes your crack show up)

- varnish damage (which is another matter)

In any case sanding is not going to help you out, don't do that!