Repairing dents on the surface of a go board // wax or oil?

[Koosh]

With regards to moisture and heat applied to dents, here's a similar process but applied to a mandolin hardtop. I found this helpful and wanted to append it to this post.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/AllThin ... 9238228274
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https://www.evernote.com/shard/s200/sh/ ... 713a2bf8db
(Evernote link provided just in case it ever gets taken down off the facebook page)

[bogiesan]

that video from Kuroki illustrates the last stages of getting the board ready for sale by applying hot wax to the surface. Wax will not penetrate the wood, wax will not inflate crushed wood fibers.

A dent is a crushing injury to the fibers. to make the dent go away you must restore the fibers to their previous state. That is impossible. A small amount of restoration can be achieved by the application of water and heat. The steam pressure and water penetration will inflate some of the crushed fibers but their physical integrity can never be restored.

Imagine a bundle of straws (remember straws?), say 25 of them, forming a round bundle. Wrap the bundle in some tape and put it on a hard surface. Now, bring a hammer down on the bundle of straws. How would you approach restoring the shape of the straws to their original tubular shapes? Same problem with the crushed wood fibers.