I heat the hard wood plugs Maple & birch. Heating really draws the sealer into thew wood. I feel especially with rock maple you need ample penetration to prevent cracking along the hook holes. Heat oven to 200 degrees and place plugs in an aluminum foil pan for 15-20 minutes then place in sealer. I get the sealer poured while the plugs are heating up. I use Val-oil and pure turps. 60% val & 40% turps. I also used Helmsman spar varnish 60/40. My last batch of big maple needles gained 3-4 grams of sealer soaking for 3 hrs. Dried in 2 days. Gray pad sand down, wash with denatured alcohol and prime.
|