Official Luthiers Forum!

The only grain filler I've tried is the water based from stewmac. That
prompted me to go back to spraying sanding more lacquer to level. Is there
a grain filler some one is using that works well without a lot of mixing or
prep. The stewmac stuff didn't seem to do much at all.   

I like traditional paste wood pore filler (either water-based or oil-based) mixed with stains to add some color to the wood. Behlen's Pore-o-Pac is a good brand.

I'll second the use of epoxies. I use System Three but from what I hear Z-Poxy is just as good if not better and it's cheaper too. Z-Poxy is also more forgiving in mixing ratios than System III.

Just be sure to let it cure completely before sanding, at least a good 24 hours. Even more if you can wait that long. A hot and dry environment to cure will help as well.

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