Pore fillers

[John Boursnell]

I’ve just used Jenkins Jecofil thixotropic grain filler on mahogany too, back and sides. Really happy with it, but needed care not to stain the actual wood too much…(!)

[James Larson Blue Wing Instruments]

zpoxy works great. lately the odor has bothered me enough that ive been shellac. 2-3 coats, then wet sand 2-3 more coats. Ive gotten great results.

[Rick Liftig luthier wannabe… slowly gettinthere]

Gluboost Fill n’ Finish has worked very well for me. After application I go through the Assilex grit series and honestly, at that point it’s going to take very few coats of “whatever” to create a gloss.

[David Foster Fostino Guitars and Ukuleles]

I use a variety of pore fillers. Zpoxy, gluboost blue bottle or recently I started utilizing shellac and pumice when doing French polish. I have never had great luck with Auqacoat. It’s funny opinions are all over the map on Aquacoat. You either love it or hate.

1. Zpoxy does wonders for popping grain and figure an adds a slightly darker tint.

2. Gluboost I love because it really fits into my OCD no patience sensibilities. I can pore fill and start sanding in 30 seconds flat.

3. Shellac with pumice seems to work wonders however I’ve only used it for a short time and don’t have much to say about it other then I really like it.

[James Huntley]

I have similar thoughts to what you shared. On mahogany, aqua coat looks great. Unfortunately it left white residue in pores when I tried it on walnut.

Now I’m curious about gluboost, thanks for the tip.

[Rick Liftig luthier wannabe… slowly gettinthere]

I was working with the GluBoost this morning and thought I’d add a bit more to the conversation: Because the stuff hardens on command, you can almost immediately hit the surface with some 800 grit Assilex. Then, a wipe with mineral spirits makes all of the small ripples, gaps, pinholes and missed grain apparent. So, you apply a bit more GluBoost in those areas and repeat the process. I’m sold on these new materials – and the Assilex\Bufflex system is miraculous.

Before even getting to the first coat of finish, I am going to have really perfect surface as a base. And because of that, I will only need light coats of finish to achieve gloss (I’m seeing that with the mineral spirits already).

I’m finding I have a lot more control over the process, immediate feedback and a lot fewer surprises.

I am wondering if I’ll have to abrade the surface for better adhesion of the finish (it will be either shellac or CrystalLac).

[James Huntley]

Hi Rick, which glu boost product did the use, the blue fill n’ finish?

[Rick Liftig luthier wannabe… slowly gettinthere]

I use all three, depending on the size of the gap\open pores. It’s nice to have the option. The thinner formulas sand more easily, and flow into the defect more easily, but don’t fill it as quickly.

Moments ago, I was filling around the end graft of my present build with the regular. I had to fill in a lot of irregularities that were not scraping out well and would have require some really aggressive sanding. Then I coated with some thin GluBoost and went through the Assilex\Bufflex sequence.

Actually I had to use some ultrathin – the dispenser portion of my bottle of thin is pretty messed up… I just came upstairs to order some more when I saw your note. I have some Stewmac replacement bottles and will probably decant the contents later today. No matter how hard I try, I seem to always end up ruining the dispenser portion of the bottles.

[James Huntley]

Thanks, Rick. Same here, the bottle tips seem to clog and then I mangle them when reopening.

[Karl Borum – Borum Acoustics]

James Huntley, I had the same: AquaCoat turned white, on mahogany,,,,

[Karl Borum – Borum Acoustics]

I’ve tested quite a few pore fillers. The ones I’ve landed on:

Rockler Water Based WunderFill

StewMac ColorTone Water Based Black Grain Filler ( they don’t sell the black anymore)

SilverTip Epoxy (Michael Bashkin did a video demonstration on it) I did 2 coats on Walnut and it needed three : (

I used Aqua Coat Water-Based once– it turned white in the pores of the neck after 3 coats of NC lacquer. I stripped the neck to bare wood and picked the filler out of the open grain/ pores with the ragged edge of a ScotchBrite pad. I could never replicate the cause and the mfg didn’t know why either; I don’t want to do that again. I have a hunch that did a grain raising before applying the Aqua Coat without letting the wood dry completely, and the filler slowly turned white- but I haven’t revisited that product to test that theory.

[James Huntley]

I had the same aqua coat experience on walnut and won’t use it again on walnut. It seems to work fine on rosewood and mahogany, but it made a mess of walnut sides.

[Thomas Deck]

I have had good luck with Solarez UV cure grain filler.