The inspector who fixed my crown molding with a pencil shaving

Had a county inspector come through a kitchen reno in Akron last March. He watched me fight a gap on the crown for about ten minutes, then asked if he could grab a pencil. He shaved the lead into the joint, rubbed it flat with his thumb, and said 'now look close.' You couldn't see the seam unless you put your face an inch away. I've been packing sawdust and glue in gaps for years, but that dry graphite trick works better on tight miters. Anyone else pick up a weird finishing trick from a site official or older guy on the crew that they still use?

2 comments

2 Comments

grantl941d ago

Learned the same trick from an old trim guy in Cleveland, except he used a soft 6B pencil so the graphite really packed in. Works great on dark stained wood too, and if you hit it with a little shellac afterward it stays put for years. Started carrying a decent mechanical pencil in my apron just for that, beats any colored wax stick I've tried on tight seams.

blair_green8612h ago

Wait, does the shellac mist over the finished wood or you do that before the topcoat?