Just wanted to thank you for this excellent video. Putting together my first guitar DIY kit from raw wood and this has cleared up the written grain filler instructions soooo much!!

Rob, you are a marvelous teacher! Thank you for sharing your knowledge. 🙏

Thank you Rob. This is great content!

Extremely helpful. thanks for keeping it quick

Thanks Rob. Great video. Cheers from Down Under.

When I was a kid, we used to build and shoot off model rockets. This was before they started making the fins out of pre-cut plastic, so the fins were made of balsa wood. We traced a pattern onto sheets of balsa wood, cut them out and sanded them before gluing them on to the body tubes if everything was the same color, or if they were a different color, we would paint them before gluing them to the body tube. Before painting the fins, we sanded them, applied wood filler, then sanded again. Not only did this achieve an ultra smooth finish, but it gave the fins a bit more strength without adding any appreciable weight. Although it was a long time ago, I don't know why I didn't remember doing this, if I had remembered, I could have been applying this technique on some of my projects.

@CurvedSlightly

3 жыл бұрын

Cool story, bro.

@AutotechWoodworking

3 жыл бұрын

@@CurvedSlightly Thanks Chuck! I wrote an unnecessarily long comment though just to say "I used to do that when building model rockets".

@mitchellmiller7813

8 күн бұрын

Smart kid!

Hey Rob - what a great video. The right amount of science and then in to the craftsmanship - and what a difference! I've never gone in for grain/pore filler in the past but now I'm getting orders for Chess boards and I was looking for something new to get a good contrast with the pieces. I was wondering what your opinion is of wet-sanding with Tung Oil, which has been my go-to in the past. It creates a nice paste while sanding which does some filling. I think I'll be getting a tub of pore-filler though! Cheers, Buddy!

@mitchellmiller7813

8 күн бұрын

A Rockler guide mentioned that applying a colored filler after sealing can help give great contrast

Can this be used on cutting or charcuterie boards?

Hi Rob, thank you for such a helpful video! How long do I need to wait after putting on the sealant spray before I put on the pore filler? How long do I need to wait after putting on my first coat of pore filler before putting on my second coat of shellac and filler? Do I need to put a top coat of shellac on the wood before staining, or do I put it on top of my last coat of pore filler? Thank you!

@rockler

3 жыл бұрын

The time after the first seal coat really depends on what you use to do that task. Lacquer sanding sealer or shellac, which is what I used, will only need to dry for about 15 minutes. The pore filler drying time may vary with the brand. Look to the directions on the can for best practices.

Will Pore Filler work on pine? Thank you for the video Rob.

@rockler

4 жыл бұрын

Yes, sand it smooth, put a light sealer coat on and then apply the pore filler.

Hey Rob, thanks for the helpful tips. I do have one question: I too am working on my first guitar build and I have already applied two coats of grain filler, but no sealer of any kind. To my eye, I still have some open pores on my Mahogany body that need filling. Would it be okay to apply sand sealer over the partially grain-filled wood and then apply more grain filler afterwards?

@rockler

2 жыл бұрын

Hi Brendan VanderMei, Please reach out to our product support team at 1-800-260-9663 or support@rockler.com. They'll be able to assist you. Thank you

Hi Rob, great content. Can this pore filler/sealer be applied to open grain oak with 1-2mm pores previously treated with oil finish or will it react or not stick to it? Alternatively what pore fillers can I use on oil finished open pore oak? The purpose is filling the pores prior to applying shellac or another hardening clear coat. Thank you

Thanks for your video, I'm just in the process of stripping down an old guitar that I want to have a bear wood with a varnish finish and polished. Can you just be clear that once its sanded down smoothly, and I apply the aqua coat, will the varnish still take a hold or will it just pool up, like water on glass.

@rockler

3 ай бұрын

Yes, you can apply varnish over Aqua Coat.

Hello Rob, just for lets say a workbench meant to stand outside underneath cover, so not directly in the weather, would it be enough you think for oak to just apply sanding sealer, then pore filler, then sanding sealer again?

@rockler

3 жыл бұрын

Hi Thijs, my advice would be sanding sealer, pore filler then a few coats of exterior polyurethane or spar varnish. Even if it is not “in the weather,” the changes in humidity would worry me. Rob

Thank you! Do you recommend I do my coffee staining to the wood prior to me performing this? Stain>shellac>wood filler and light sand three times>shellac>top coat Thanks in advance!

@rockler

3 жыл бұрын

Yes, that sequence will work great for your coffee table! With that said, don’t be afraid to use the filler a 4th time if you look at it and think the top could benefit from an additional coat. Good luck, and send us a picture of your table when you are done!

@Strumbum01

3 жыл бұрын

@@rockler its actually an ash guitar body that I’m going to stain using espresso or coffee, sorry I didn’t clarify. Thank you for the response!

New to finishing. We had a black walnut countertop installed and am finishing it myself. I was going to just use a grain filler and then poly but after watching this I wonder why you use a sanding sealer ahead of a grain filler? Is that necessary, and if so, why? Thanks

@rockler

2 жыл бұрын

Hi John Keller, Please reach out to our product support team at 1-800-260-9663 or support@rockler.com. They'll be able to assist you. Thank you

Can I use aquacoat filler on top of my golden oak paneling without have to sand it down to raw wood?

@rockler

3 жыл бұрын

We have never heard anyone use grain filler in this way but yes, it is possible. You’d need to sand it first, but not down to raw wood. You would also need to make sure the finish on the paneling is in good condition (not peeling or cracking).

Should i stain it first or tint the filler?

@MrSharper802

3 жыл бұрын

stain, seal with shellac, then fill

I'm finishing an old door I have to paint it due to all the patches it has but I still want a super smooth finish, can you paint over this?

@rockler

4 жыл бұрын

You can paint over pore filler. It works great.

@adamhernandez3417

2 жыл бұрын

@@rockler should you paint the wood first before doing any of these steps

Wood this be reccommended for use on a gunstock? Thx

@rockler

2 жыл бұрын

Yes. In addition, if you are using walnut or another close grained hardwood (not open grained like oak) a coat of tung oil applied and allowed to cure for several days will bring “pop” the figure of the grain. Then just follow the steps in the video.

Is it OK to put clear aqua coat grain filler over a water based poly? My aqua coat delivery was delayed so I went ahead and finished building my project and have put two coats of the urethane over it already.

@rockler

Жыл бұрын

Grain filler is designed to be put on raw or stained wood to fill the grain prior to finishing. So, to answer your question no you can't put it over water-based poly.

@daffyduck6169

Жыл бұрын

@@rockler ....Thank you for your speedy reply.

Can I use a oil based poly over a grain filler. I'm finding conflicting answers

@rockler

Ай бұрын

Hi @Steve-of8zo, Please reach out to our product support team at 1-800-260-9663 or support@rockler.com. They'll be able to assist you. Thank you

Thanks - but why shellac first?

@rockler

4 жыл бұрын

The light coat of sealer seals the long grain of the wood and leaves the pores basically open. It just makes the process faster and easier.

How well does this work on pine?

@rockler

3 жыл бұрын

Hi Don, this product will work equally well with pine.

When finishing a guitar, let the finsh cure for months before putting anything on it or putting it on anything. I refinished a guitar and after if was "dry" (a couple weeks at least) I set it on a padded work mat and covered it with more of the same padded work mat to protect it while I did other work. During that time other things got set on top of it (nothing very heavy), which was fine because the padded mat protected it, at least that's what I thought. When I remove the guitar body from the padding it had the texture of the padded mat embedded into the finish. The extremely soft bumps from the padding had actually deformed the surface of the finish. So, if you want to save yourself months of work, let the finish cure for as long as possible and don't ever set anything on top of it. From what I understand, the outer layers of the finish prevent, or drastically slow down the drying of the other layers of finish, so they don't cure for a very long time. I have heard that some kinds of guitar finishes never really cure completely.

Can you fill the grain then stain the grain filler and wood to get a smooth finish

@rockler

Жыл бұрын

Aquacoat will not accept stains or dyes after it dries. It dries clear so you can stain the wood first and then fill the pores.

Would pore filler work well for turned objects as well?

@rockler

4 жыл бұрын

Yes, follow the same basic steps and you will have success.

What wood is behind you???

@rockler

3 ай бұрын

Hello, The ones that match the uppers with the tall corner unit are white oak with a water poly finish. The ones on our steel Rock-Steady stands, seen in other videos, are baltic birch plywood that we sell on Rockler.com and in Rockler stores. Thanks!

What grain filler would you use on an exterior Mahogany or White Oak entry door, exposed to the elements, finished with about 4-5 coats Spar Varnish? Or would you even bother on an exterior door? Your video wasn't specific to interior or exterior wood. Thanks.

@rockler

3 жыл бұрын

Grain filler, used to fill pores on open-grained woods and help to flatten/smooth the wood surface, probably won’t add much visual benefit to an exterior door. But, if the door isn’t exposed to the elements constantly, pore filler likely will work in this application-meaning it won‘t fail due to wood movement or temperature extremes. More than likely, four or five coats of thick spar varnish will fill the open pores on their own, without the need for grain filler.

If you are going to use a grain filler, you probably want to do any staining before hand. The grain filler (especially if you use shellac before you apply it) will prevent the stain from penetrating the wood and is almost impossible to remove. It can also change the color of the wood or finish, so be aware of that.

Isn't it against the grain then with the grain?

@rockler

2 жыл бұрын

When applying pore or grain filler the most important thing is to work the product deeply into the wood’s pores. So whether you apply it with the grain first or across the grain first is not as important as that you do both. The order is really up to you.

Does the name Jim Gaffigan mean anything to you??