Pedal Wheel for Wood Filler Application.

Pedal wheel is a tool used to help the application of wood filler. Wood filler that serves to fill the wood pores and grains is viscous material. Application of wood filler manually could be tough work, requiring a lot of time and effort. Then, to help the filler application, we can use the pedal wheel. Pedal wheel is a pedal that could rotate with felts at the tip. When it is operated, the wheel rotates its felts to wipe the filler in a circular motion. It works as the circular motion of the hand in the filler application with cloth, rag or scotch brite. Because it uses the engine power to do the mechanical motion, then the filler applications can be expected to be more consistent with the less manpower. 

How to use the pedal wheel can be watched in the video:

Explanation

Apply the filler to the wood surface evenly. We can pour the filler on the wood surface or apply the filler using brush or rag. Make sure we put enough filler on the surface.

Then turn on the pedal wheel and move it at the surface overall. Let the pedal rotate and the felt spread the filler in the circular motion. Moving the pedal until the filler layers the overall surface, keep moving the pedal until the filler is medium dry, then take off the wheel.

Wipe off the filler excess at the surface with clean rags or steel wool. Make sure the surface is clean and the filler is only left inside the pores and grain; no filler is in the surface.

Let the wood filler dry, and then continue with the sealer application as the next finishing process. 

Things to be considered in the uses of pedal wheel.

• Pedal wheel can only be used to apply the wiping filler. 

The wiping filler is the filler that can be cleaned by wiping without doing the sanding operation (for more explanation, you can go to our previous article: wiping filler for wood finishing). This kind of wood filler will keep soft and be able to be cleaned by wiping with rag or steel wool. This type of filler is usually applied over a wash coat and applied like a glaze. The filler that requires sanding is going to be hard when it is dry, and it could damage the felt and scratch the wood surface.

• Do not press the pedal wheel to the surface.

Wiping filler does not need pressure in its application; the perfect filling is obtained when the filler can be applied evenly to the overall surface with no missing part. The uniform and consistent circular motion is the important thing for the perfect filler applications. Too much pressure risks causing scratches at the wood surface.

• Do not rotate too fast.

This tool is basically replacing the circular motion as the hand movements in the filler application. Too fast rotating is not necessary; too fast pedal rotation even could make the filler splattered everywhere and avoid it filling in the pores and grains. 

keep the pedal wheel clean

• Keep the felt to be elastic and flexible.

The felt is the main part of the device to perform the good result in the filling process. In order to function optimally, he has to be flexible and soft. The felt that is hard will scratch and damage the wood surface. Keep the felt to be clean when it is not being used. The existence of dry filler in the felt would make the felt hard and stiff. Dip the felt in mineral spirits (solvent for wiping filler) when he is not in use.

• Make sure that we follow the technical data from the filler

Pedal wheel: this only helps the filer application. He cannot speed up the drying time of the filler. Make sure we read the technical data and follow the drying time of the wood filler.