Easy Grainfiller Questions

[ByronBlack]

My guitar is going to be mahogany with a maple laminate neck-thru.

I've been reading up on finishing (i'm going natural for this one) and it recommends using a grainfiller for mahogany because of the open pores - this I understand and have no problem with.

However, the stuff i've been reading says that the grainfiller comes coloured to match the wood, now I want to keep the wood as natural as possible, and also with the maple running through the middle, it would prove quite difficult not to go over the maple with the mahogany coloured grainfiller.

Is there a 'clear' grainfiller that can be sprayed on before the sand-sealer stage?

I've done a search on this forum, but havn't found an answer, so apologies if this is rather a basic question.

Cheers Guys.

[Hunter]

Erm, isn't Sand and Sealer to fill the grain? Correct me if I'm wrong please.

[ByronBlack]

From what I understood, the sanding sealer was the coat that is put on over grainfiller to seperate it from the clear primer coat, or atleast that's how I understood it from Melvyn Hiscocks book.

[Southpa]

Is there a 'clear' grainfiller that can be sprayed on before the sand-sealer stage?

Yes, Stewmac carries it, but not the spray on variety. Just follow the directions.

[Gemleggat]

Stew mac sells clear grainfiller.

[Drak]

Use 2-part epoxy, there's your clear grain filler, available at Home Depot and cheap. You can thin it a TINY bit with a TINY amount of Acetone.

Get 2 tubes tho.

[Southpa]

Good idea, Drak. I got a large quantity of that laying around here somewhere, gonna use it on some redwood burl (future project). How well does the epoxy take to staining?

[ByronBlack]

Thanks for the info guy's.

Nice tip Drak, I recently purchased some epoxy for a few home projects. I'm assuming that it won't 'cloud' the view of the wood through the clear in any way? And does the epoxy coat require sanding before the sealer and clear coats?

[Drak]

Yes. Apply it, let it dry, then sand it back with a hard backer block until just the pores are filled.

Yes, it's quite clear, but you're going to sand it back until there barely anything left on the wood anyway. You're using it just to fill pores.

[ByronBlack]

Yes. Apply it, let it dry, then sand it back with a hard backer block until just the pores are filled.

Yes, it's quite clear, but you're going to sand it back until there barely anything left on the wood anyway. You're using it just to fill pores.

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Thanks for the info drak, I think i'll give it a few tests on some scrap as i'm a bit worried about the quick drying/curing time - are there retardents that can be added to slow the curing to allow time to get an even coverage?

[Drak]

Well, for starters, I always see 2 different varieties of epoxy in my Home Depot, the 5-minute set and the 30-minute set.

Also, the more Acetone you use, the more it slows down the drying process, that's why I said use a very small amount, but it is nice to thin that stuff down a little. So if you thin it more, it will set up and dry more slowly also.

I found that out the hard way one time.

[ByronBlack]

Well, for starters, I always see 2 different varieties of epoxy in my Home Depot, the 5-minute set and the 30-minute set.

Also, the more Acetone you use, the more it slows down the drying process, that's why I said use a very small amount, but it is nice to thin that stuff down a little. So if you thin it more, it will set up and dry more slowly also.

I found that out the hard way one time.

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I have some scrap wood, so this will be a nice midweek experiment to do while i'm waiting for the wood to arrive, thanks for the tip, that will save me some money on stewmacs stuff.

[Mickguard]

All I could find here was clear grain filler....here's a related question: I'd like to stain the wood I'm using (I "think" it's mahogany....) red --do I stain before or after grain filling.

Also, getting back to the thread --is there an advantage to using epoxy over grain filler? Over here, the two-part epoxy I've seen costs at least 1Ox the price of a bottle of grain filler!

[Doc]

I would stain after I grain filled. This way you don't mess up your color when you're taking off the excess. You also find where you didn't get the goo all the way off before you start the clear parts.

I'm not sure I completely understand the allure of evpoxy as a grain filler. Especially if you're not doing a solid color. If you're doing a natural or stained wood finish I would think that regular semi-paste wood filler, which is specifically designed for this would be the beast of choice. I know some folks in over regulated environments have access problems. but that would be my only ecuse for using epoxy. The stuff sets up hard as a bowling ball and is the devil to sand.

[nollock]

I tried West System epoxy as a grain filler and it pops the grain briliantly. Far more than anything else I have tried. More than KTM clear waterbase laquer, and a bit more than Rustns plastic coating. Just seems to realy soak in. So if you want a deep tranparent finsih, epoxy grainfiller is a good choice. (Using normal grain filler reduces the depth of the finish in my experience)

The fact that epoxy drys rock hard is also an advantage, it will add extra resistance to dings. If the wood behind the finish will resist a fingernail pressed into it then the actual top coat has a much better chance of doing the same. Probably not an issue if your doing a thick coat of 2-pack poly or somthing like that, but used underneath waterbase laquer it could be very usefull extra dingproofing.

chris

[johnsilver]

is there an advantage to using epoxy over grain filler?

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I was thinking this exact question.

Drak, I seem to recall you using epoxy on spalted wood and it came out beautifully. I can understand using epoxy then as it adds some stability to the wood. What would be the advantage of using epoxy on something like mahogany? Does it add depth and clarity vs paste grain filler? I guess if you sand it back to the wood so only the pores are filled, then stain or dye would do it's job normally?

Perhaps me needs to do some home testing.