Sealer

[sb guitars]

I'm refinishing a guitar that I built. I spent all the money that I could on paint, so I can't spare anymore. I was going to use bondo (as was suggested to me by the guy that taught me how to build) to fill in the mahogany grain. When I tried this, it didn't work. The bondo would not fill the grain. So now since I don't hve any grain filler, sealer was suggested. After researching different forums, I got a even mixed result. It seems it was 50-50 in for and against.

So now I come to the experts asking; Can I use sealer to fill the grain of mahogany?

[Woodenspoke]

I'm refinishing a guitar that I built. I spent all the money that I could on paint, so I can't spare anymore. I was going to use Bondo (as was suggested to me by the guy that taught me how to build) to fill in the mahogany grain. When I tried this, it didn't work. The Bondo would not fill the grain. So now since I don't have any grain filler, sealer was suggested. After researching different forums, I got a even mixed result. It seems it was 50-50 in for and against.

So now I come to the experts asking; Can I use sealer to fill the grain of mahogany?

Sealer is too thin to be filler unless you like doing many coats and sanding down between coats. One trick is to use shellac with some sort of bulking material like pumice. The Stumac tips recently had an article in which they used baking soda as a bulking agent with Colortone die to make a colored paste, similar to using pumice with shellac. You may want to try using baking soda mixed in your sealer rather than the shellac. Either way you need to wipe down the surface well after applying and repeat the process several times, sand as needed. The shellac will probably dry faster.

Bondo is kinda thick for pore filling, sounds like a bitch. have your teacher shot or find a better teacher. I would only use Bondo to rebuild damage.

[sb guitars]

Thanks for the reply I went ahead with the sealer, and it worked perfectly. It took about 1.5 hours including drying time.