This time we have a variation of a technique that's been around for a while: using super glue as a filler. However, Ward Shrake, who brought this procedure to our attention in a recent E-mail, modified the technique to make finished sanding a lot more accurate.
Here's what Ward did:
"Using baking soda mixed with super glue as a filler is a handy, well-known trick. The main trouble I've encountered with it is that it dries clear, making it difficult to prevent oversanding.
"You can get around this by using a few drops of leftover ink from an inkjet refill kit to dye the baking soda. I mix up a few batches at a time, in various colors, and store it in small containers. 35mm film canisters work well enough, but you may want to go a little bigger than that, so you can get your fingers into the container.
"Now, when the super glue sets, you'll have a hard, opaque, colored area that makes it easy to know when to stop sanding. You can even lay one color on top of another, to fill in any minor defects.
"Experiment - as always! I've found that you may not get the custom-mixed colors you'd expect if you mix wet inks. When they're mixed wet, dyed blue and red baking soda produce a charcoal gray, but allowing the blue and red dyed baking soda to dry, then mixing the dry powders with super glue the next day, should result in a purple color.
"You may also want to mix the colors up a bit lighter than you hope for. They tend to darken when they dry."
Thanks for sharing that timely tip, Ward. Being able to see a little better when you're sanding, especially when you're working on a tricky area, will certainly produce better results.