Official Luthiers Forum!

What is your pore filler of choice for Walnut wood? Is shellac acceptable as a pore filler for walnut? It seems that Z-Poxy is popular on this forum. I want the natural beauy of the walnut to come through.

What do you use?

Thanks in advance for all replies.

Ron M.

Dark chocolate colored paste wood pore filler will make walnut pop better than anything.

Without a doubt Z-poxy. This is a recent Walnut OM, Z-poxy then French polish.



Colin

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I don't believe in anything, I simply make use of a set of reasonable working hypotheses.

Hi Barry,
Any particular brand that you recommend? Thanks for your reply.



Wow! Colin that finish is stunning. Looks like English Walnut. i see why Z-poxy is so popular. Is It a easy to apply, and will it work with a true oil finish?

Thanks for the pic.

Ron M.

Not much pops the grain like Z-poxy. You won't leave much on the wood anyway if you scrape it and sand it right. Be sure to repeat your effort at least once though.
Beautifull guitar Colin. Lets have another look soon ok!!

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Tickle your guitar daily, and it'll tickle you back.

I like Behlen's oil-based paste wood pore filler.

Colin's finish is truly stunning. Absolutely beautiful. But my personal choice is always wood pore filler from the local paint store. I always buy a neutral colored oil based product, because I can tone it with oil based artist colors. For black walnut, which is a very common wood here in Missouri, I mix the filler with a bit of dark walnut oil stain and then a bit of an artist color called "cadmium red light." I don't know how to tell you to mix the proportions, except to say it's a small amount of each pigment into the neutral pore filler. The cad red, in particular, is very strong and will go a long way. Experiment on well-sanded scraps of walnut and see what appeals to you. There are lots and lots of colors available, and you will surely find something that you like. For my archtop project, I scooped out enough filler for the whole guitar, and then mixed in a couple of table spoons of the dark walnut oil stain and about a toothbrush-sized squeeze of the cad red. Beautiful! But experiment on your own and see what works for you, because it's your guitar, and you are the one who needs to be most pleased by its appearance. Can I mention brand names on this forum? The brand I bought was Benjamin Moore. I mixed my batch in an empty plastic one-pound coffee can. About three quarters of an inch of total mixture in the bottom of the can did the guitar (some of it twice) with filler left over for touch ups, and left me plenty of room to get my hand in and out of the can. NOTE: Let it dry a few days before top coating with anything else, and follow instructions about wiping off the excess after it tacks up. The label says you can top coat after twenty four hours, but three days is more like it. Good luck! You'll be fine.

Thanks Barry, John and cphanna for the great tips.

Is the pore filler applied to bare wood or do you have to apply a wash coat, and If so what do you recommend? Can I use shellac as a sealer afterwards. I don't want to stain the wood, just trying to achieve a natural looking finish using true oil. Thanks.

Ron M.

I'd recommend getting Barry's input on this point before you do anything. You might want to consider issues such as your choice of binding. For example, if you use maple binding with walnut back and sides, then you might want to wash coat everything so that you could very easily clean the resulting stain off of places where you don't want it to be (in this case, the maple binding.) But I think the choice of a wash coat depends a lot on circumstance. Barry has so more experience than I do with guitars, and I think you should definitely follow his lead on this question. But, regardless of what you do this time, I hope you will at least experiment with some scraps so you'll build some experience and confidence and creative ideas for a future project. Most of my pore filling has been on furniture, but I have filled two walnut and one mahogany guitar projects with essentially the same method I described to you. I then finished two of the instruments with varnish and one with a sprayed water borne lacquer. They all came out beautifully. My furniture projects also respond well to varnished and wiped oil finishes. The pore filler is a very versatile material if you let it dry properly and follow all other label recommendations along the way. Best of luck on your project!
Pat

Ron buddy another vote for Z-poxy here and be sure to buy, if you go this route, Z-poxy "finishing resin" and not the various varieties of Z-poxy epoxy glue.

System III is also great and it's another epoxy finishing resin, also available as glue and not a finishing resin, although SIII requires very precise mixing and is unforgiving in this respect.

Also several of the professional finishers use West Systems epoxy, the glue and not a finishing resin, with superb results.

There are lots of ways to fill pores but Z-poxy does seem to be very popular and easy to do.

Oh, so sorry, I forgot to add that shellac will stick very well to epoxy and can be used as a sealer coat but epoxy does not stick well to shellac.

You might want to go with the epoxy, as it obviously yields a fabulous surface for finishes.
However, if you just want to fill walnut pores without staining, you can achieve that with the neutral (or natural) oil based wood filler, too. In the final analysis, it just comes down to a personal preference, and any of these methods will yield excellent results. We all go with what we have used the most, because we are comfortable with those solutions. But, to clarify an earlier question, in all cases described above, I applied my finished directly over a well-dried and cured pore filler. Why not get a little of each product and try them both on a short walnut stick? Then you can evaluate the results that YOU get, and form your own preferences. You're going to have a lot of fun figuring out what works best for you. Courage! Do some experimenting and then press on!

Thanks Pat

Ron M.

Medium thin CA

Paste Wood Pore Filler can be placed on raw wood, but I prefer to first use a wash coat of shellac or vinyl sealer. This provides several benefits: It will minimize the staining of the wood; it will seal bindings, purfling and the spruce top to prevent stains; and it makes removing excess filler easier. I let the filler dry for at least 48 hours before top coating.

Thanks Barry, I have some 2lb cut blonde shellac.

Also Thanks to MichaelP.

It's time to order some pore filler.

Ron M.

Other than luthier supplies houses and woodworking suppliers, what other places carry pore filler, hobby shops? i going to check to see if i can pick it up locally before resorting to ordering online. I think ill try the Z-Poxy.

Ron M

Ron, Just to be clear, my recommendations relate only to paste wood pore filler, not epoxy. They are totally different animals.

Ron my Z-Poxy has come from Woodcraft and LMI has it too now. Be sure to get Z-Poxy finishing resin and not the glue - sorry to be a nag others have used the glue and had a harder go at it.

I understand Barry, thanks.

I appreciate the reminder Hesh, better safe than sorry.

regards,
Ron M.