This is both a question and meant to be informative. I'm using white oak for a project and I want to fill the grain. The filler I've got on hand and am planning to use is Aqua Coat grain filler. Charles Neil likes it. Show
When finishing a porous hardwood such as oak or walnut, the open pore structure can cause your final surface to appear coarse and rippled rather than silky smooth. And worse, if your woodworking buddies notice this poor surface quality in your project, that can become fodder for harassment that you simply don’t want to deal with (I recently witnessed such a scolding, which is why I’m writing this article!).
There are two common approaches to filling the grain on a table top. The first is painstakingly slow, and involves wet sanding a slow cure finish such as Danish Oil to create a dust/finish slurry that fills the pores. It works, but it might take 5-6 coats of sanded finish before the pores are completely filled flush to the surface of the wood depending on the size of wood pores, and a long dry time between coats because of the volume of finish that has to dry. The more efficient approach is to use a commercial pore filler, which provides an efficient, quick-drying approach to filling the wood pores on your table top. I used AquaCoat Clear Wood Grain Filler because it’s simple to apply, odorless, doesn’t shrink, is Eco-friendly and produces great results with minimal effort.
AquaCoat grain filler is easy to use by following a few simple steps.
If you plan to apply a stain, you can do that before or after applying the grain filler. If you want the stain to penetrate the wood pores, apply the stain first, and if you don’t, apply it after the grain filler has dried. As with any new finishing operation, it’s always best to test and compare on scrap to be sure that you are not surprised by the results on your final piece. Are grain fillers Stainable?Wood Grain Filler Application
Most wood grain fillers won"t take a stain very well after they dry; whatever color of filler you stuff into the grain of the wood will be a highly visible and permanent change.
Can you put stain over wood filler?Allow the patch to dry overnight before applying an oil-based stain, paint, varnish, shellac or polyurethane. In the case of latex paints or stains, you only need to wait 1.5 to 2 hours after applying the wood filler. Apply a top coat of paint or solid color stain within 24 hours for all outdoor applications.
Can you stain over aqua coat grain filler?You can brush or spray any oil- or water-based stain blocking primer, paint or lacquer over Aqua Coat White Cabinet Grain Filler.
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