Clear pore filler...such a thing?

[Chris Barnett]

Have been looking for a product that I had seen advertised but had not taken the time to investigate. What I am looking for is a wood pore filler that is applied and dries clear, not a filler that is opaque or is stainable. Seems that the product might only be found in the too good to be true store, but the product I saw either here or on a pen turning forum was the item needed.
Old Masters brand possibly has such a product but is not available.
Cyanoacrylate glue (CA) would do the job but application is touchy and expensive for large surfaces. I read that shellac will work but requires many, many applications since the solids portion is so low.
Does such a filler exist or just hope for the future?

[John Coloccia]

McFadden used to make a clear pore filler. Seagrave took over the McFadden line (so sad...McFadden's was so well respected in the instrument community). I don't know if Seagrave has made the clear filler available as well. I know they make McFadden's lacquer now.

George Wilson has used epoxy with success, as have others, and has have I on occasion. I don't know if he monitors the finishing forum. Maybe you might want to send him a PM or do some research on the epoxy process.

The process with shellac would be to do the beginning of the French Polish. Toss down a spit coat, and then rub and rub and rub with pumice and alcohol. The idea is that the pumice is abrasive and combined with the alcohol will eventually fill the pores with a combination of shellac and dust. Someone else has recently posted a technique for wet sanding with shellac that essentially does the same thing. I tried that as an experiment, and eventually got good results. It took a bit of practice to keep from making a mess!

[Scott Holmes]

The way I fill with dewaxed blond shellac is as follows...

I brush on 3 or 4 coats of a 3 to 4 pound cut of dewaxed blond shellac. This solves the "low solids" issue mentioned. Then sand or scrape it back so the shellac is only is the pores. You now have filled the pores with a hard, optically clean, colorfast pore filler.

[John Coloccia]

Scott: How long do you wait between coats? Does it matter as far as shrinkage or anything else? I've always been afraid to try this for fear of that I'd end up with a ticking time bomb of something cracking/checking later on. I look forward to learning from your your experience with this.

[Scott Holmes]

The shellac will dry in less than an hour between coats. Shellac does not "cure" it is an evaporative finish not a reactive finish. I let it "dry" a day before I sand it back. If it's humid I'll give it another day or so before I top coat. I have had a few times when I rushed it that a few days after the top coat, it had a slight depression in the pores; an extra top coat took care of the depressions.

I don't use shellec as a pore filler on red oak or other very porous grained woods. Walnut, mahogany, cherry are OK

[Bob Direso]

There is a product called Crystalac wood grain filler that dries absolutely clear according to the manufacturer. The manufacturer is Becker labs, Mountain City Tn. Bob

[Chris Barnett]

Thanks Bob. I had read of a material that was clear, so might be the same stuff, or the product that Woodcraft sells. Mountain City is 100 miles, give or take, from here, so might just take a trip up there. Beautiful drive otherwise would not waste the gas; I am starting to get a case of cabin fever and that's inexpensive meds.
I have used many coats of shellac and finishes to build up a coat, then sand down, and do again and again, to achieve a flat void free surface. A waste of time and materials, but it did work.
With luck, one of these will satisfy.
And...since I started this thread, I have another question. When finish containers are partly used, the air will degrade the material, so I have used marbles for very small cans, and the plastic shipping pillows in water based paint cans, to eliminate air volume. Am wanting something else that can be used in oil based products but cannot seam to identify anything that is inert, i.e. like the marbles, which also ends up being a mess, and costly for numerous and larger cans. What do other folks do, other than to discard partially filled cans (I do not have a business nor do I sell anything so all monies are on the outgo side of the balance sheet) thus instilling frugality here.

[Bob Wingard]

I put the tip of a propane torch in the finish container .. open the valve .. let it run for 10 seconds +/-. The propane is heavier than air, so it keeps the air away from the surface of the finish ...

You only need the lid open far enough to get the nozzle in the container. If you can smell the gas .. it's probably enough.

[Bob Direso]

Get a can of Bloxygen at Woodcraft or any woodworking outfit. It is heavier than air and you spray it into your cans of finish to replace the air. It lays on top of the finish and seals it from the air that causes curring of the finish to occur. The funny thing about this stuff is the can is full when it feels like its empty. I guess a chemist would be able to explain why something that seems to weigh nothing is still heavier than air. Anyway it works. Bob.

[David Weaver]

There is a product called Crystalac wood grain filler that dries absolutely clear according to the manufacturer. The manufacturer is Becker labs, Mountain City Tn. Bob

I've used it. It does, and if it's not absolutely clear, it's got to be close. It took me a couple of applications to get all of the pores filled in oak (tried it about 4 or 5 years ago). I haven't used it since.

George wilson mentioned using epoxy and a solvent (can't remember of it was DNA) and letting the epoxy almost dry, removing what's left on the surface by rolling the almost dried stuff off.

[Howard Acheson]

Have you Goggled "Clear Grain Filler. A whole bunch of products come up.

[Steve Jenkins]

I spoke with the West systems epoxy folks several years ago abut thinning epoxy and they said to use lacquer thinner. they said that 10% wouldn't affect the strength, not that that matters for pore filling.

George wilson mentioned using epoxy and a solvent (can't remember of it was DNA) and letting the epoxy almost dry, removing what's left on the surface by rolling the almost dried stuff off.[/QUOTE]

[John Sanford]

Lacquer may be the ticket. Just build/cut/build the finish, starting with a thin mix, same as shellac, but the lacquer is truly clear. The challenge with any of the fillers is the surface tension of the liquid finish. A low surface tension will allow the finish to flow into smaller pores. I don't know what has lower tension (shellac or lacquer), but my limited experience is that varnishes have higher tension than either. Shellac may be lower than lacquer, because of the alcohol, which can be added to water to lower water's surface tension.

[Jay MacDougall]

Stewmac makes a clear grain filler, Colortone is the brand.

[Chris Barnett]

Googling would identify items but confidence in the product would be lacking. Have used expxy, shellac etc, and CA for filler but there are drawbacks in each, however had not tried thinning epoxy, which could remedy the problem using it. Was looking for something new, thinking there are products for that application, and a few have been identified, and thanks for that. Bloxygen, will check that out, but propane is readily available, and maybe no more reactive than the vapors from the finish, unless the combination is more reactive.