another grain fill question.....

[g2]

Hello all....

I've been doing some grain filling on a scrap piece of swamp ash.....

I'm using the stewmac waterbased brown filler.....


CB, i've followed you're great instructions and feel confidant I am doing things correctly....BUT.....once I let the filler dry, 24 hours, and I then go to sand....do I want to sand so much that the brownish tint that is on the wood is being sanded off??
The grain is definitely darker, so I feel good about the pores getting filled....but, again, do I want to sand so much that I have the natural look of the wood back?

I hope that all made sense....

I applied a 3rd coat of filler this morning after sanding with 320 grit.....

The wood is feeling nice n smooth...I hope this is a sign of me doing something correctly!!

Thanks!!!

 

[bpmorton777]

im at this point in my build as well and also not sure if i need to sand it perfectly all the way around on the first coats of grainfiller. my first coat of grain filler wasnt sanded all the way back...

Also: WillyK has talked about using sanding sealer before the grain fill on a body that he is finishing in tung oil. Does this help keep the grain filler from soaking into the wood? You can use nitro based sanding sealer before using a drying oil? If this is true, can i still use the sanding sealer after two coats of grainfiller have gone on and been saded off?

Brian

 

[jackthehack]

It kind of depends on the effect you are trying to get. When using colored grain fillers most usually you sand back all coloration to the wood outside the grain. If you like the coloration's effect on the wood, you can leave that, but in practice it can get pretty hard to keep it 100% even.

A trick I use is do the first couple of fills with the colored grain filler, sand it back so every thing outside the grain is back to "normal", then do the final fills with clear filler. This leaves the color in the filled grain, but makes it a lot easier not sanding filler back out of the grain trying to get the color back off the base wood.

 

[g2]

It kind of depends on the effect you are trying to get. When using colored grain fillers most usually you sand back all coloration to the wood outside the grain. If you like the coloration's effect on the wood, you can leave that, but in practice it can get pretty hard to keep it 100% even.

A trick I use is do the first couple of fills with the colored grain filler, sand it back so every thing outside the grain is back to "normal", then do the final fills with clear filler. This leaves the color in the filled grain, but makes it a lot easier not sanding filler back out of the grain trying to get the color back off the base wood.

Excellent suggestion Jack....about using clear filler towards the end.
I definitely don't mind the wood being tinted a little, but this is just test work for now..so i'll be using a couple of different pieces of scrap to try different approaches as well.

I just want to make sure that sanding the color away isn't a sign that i'm also sanding the filler out of the grain....
Im guessing im not as things are feeling very smooth when I run my hand/fingers across the wood.....

 

[-CB-]

That sort of brownish tint .... I use a sanding block.  When you do that, you'll notice that some areas of the top are definitely lower than others.  I did leave a bit of brown tinted filler in there, because taking it out would mean a non level surface.  Better to leave it, let it fill, and watch how it feathers.

You can see some of that effect here.

 

[g2]

That looks really nice CB.....thats using the stewmac med brown filler i assume??

So, if I am to leave a tint on the wood I want to be sanding pretty lightly as to keep an even surface....??

I did get one of those 3M sanding blocks....much better than just using a block of wood!!

 

[willyk]

The reason I use sand/sealer before grain filling is to discourage any color bleed from the filler, which I thin with a stain appropriate to the efect I'm after, to the wood itself. I'm not sure it's even totally neccessary to do this but it works for me. I find it gives me a nice smooth surface to apply a sloppy fill paste making less mess to sand off when it has completely dried.

 

[-CB-]

Just to be clear.  The overall "color" is not the filler.  Its the amber finish over the filler.  What you see within the green parts above... there you can see the cloudy darker brown of the filler.  On ash... its that or deep deep sanding. 

 

[g2]

Here's a picture of my guinea pig swamp ash....

As you can see there is some unevenness to it....

Ive done 3 fills so far and it feels super smooth to me....
I think Im going to move on to staining this weekend....

 

[-CB-]

I see some dipsydoodles in the board, but frankly they're a non issue - as Warmoth's surface sanded tops and backs are generally free of that.

The depression areas around the dark grain stripes - similar to what I had on my W body - are normal, and you've done a great job with them.

I'd say your technique and skill level are up to the task of filling a W body.

 

[jackthehack]

Another tip; with the caveat that I have a lot more experience filling mahogany than ash, when you think you're finally done, try shooting a light coat of clear lacquer or your toner on top. While the "final" grain fill may look and feel like it's done,  there may be some "dips"/"creases"/imperfections that are hard to distinguish. You can always sand that back and do another fill or two of clear grain filler as/if necessary.

What was your top finish going to be?

 

[g2]

Thanks for the feedback CB.....

As of now....after a few coats of stain (still not sure what color) I'm thinking of either using pure tung oil or a satin finish....but, i'm not 100% set on either one yet and could possibly consider more glossy nitro finish.

 

[-CB-]

Tung would be nice - and once its all a flat and filled surface, you'd avoid that "amateur oil finish" look.

 

[g2]

Tung would be nice - and once its all a flat and filled surface, you'd avoid that "amateur oil finish" look.

yea, i think that's what i'll experiment with tung oil first as it will be easier to do in my apt.....