pore fill

[Mike Sandor]

Typically I use the numerous coats of lacquer and sand back in order to fill the open pores in mahogany and walnut. Getting a bit tired of that and decided to try the water based filler that Stew Mac offers. I talked to there tech. support and they stated that the "neutral" filler is actually clear. Not so much, as it is white when applied and white when dry. This white does darken up a bit after a coat of nitro, but not completely. They stated that I could color tint it with there colored stain. The problem I can see is trying to keep the tinted filler off of any of the natural maple binding, along with the maple strips in the laminated neck. Which is why I am looking for clear.
Any suggestions?

[Christ Kacoyannakis]

Pore fill with epoxy. It is clear, brings out the grain of the wood, and adds depth. Plus it slightly hardens the wood. You are not applying a thick coat like they do on commercial bars, but just filling the pores and leaving a very small micro coat, which you sand back, as well. Lots of information on the web, but here is the first of three YouTube videos.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YYHxMg7n9cI

[Alan Carruth]

I really dislike epoxy, but that's just me. I like to pore fill in the French polish manner; shellac and pumice. If you use a mix of alcohol and acetone for the solvent (1 volume of alcohol to 2 of acetone) it flashes off very quickly, and leaves you with minimal shrinkage. A couple of applications seems to fill pretty well, which is a good thing, since tit's a pretty heady technique.

[Barry Daniels]

Another traditional pore filler is oil-based paste wood pore filler. It comes in various colors and can be tinted with oil stains. You keep it from staining purfling/binding by applying a coat of sealer over everything first.

[Mario Proulx]

You keep it from staining purfling/binding by applying a coat of sealer over everything first.

Followed by scraping off the bindings after the fill process is done. Tedious, but effective.

I dislike epoxy, also, but a few test panels have looked amazing! You can sand back to wood, leaving epoxy only in the pores, if you like.

My go-to pore fill, until switching to polyester finishes, was simply shellac and pumice. I would do a "sloppy and crude and quick" FP-style rub of it, let it dry a day or two, level it roughly with a 1/4 sheet sander and fresh/sharp 150 grit(not a typo) and shoot the lacquer...

[Barry Daniels]

I have never had to scrape the binding on a pore fill. A couple of times when using a light colored binding which had a bit of visible staining, it came off easily with a rag wetted with mineral spirits.