Clear pore filler...such a thing?

[John Coloccia]

Just FYI: The StewMac water based ColorTone products are made by Target. StewMac and Target both say that the formula's been tweaked specifically for instrument building, whatever that means, but you can also get a clear, water based grain filler from Target.

[David Weaver]

I haven't used the pore filler, but I have used the stewmac lacquer (on some casework - yeah, i know, it's instrument lacquer and not furniture lacquer, but it's clear and I can spray it in the garage. You have to have a thick layer and a pretty good light source to see any cool hue to the finish. It rubbed out really nicely.

[Henry Ambrose]

You could use West epoxy and not thin it. Use one of the slower hardeners. The mixed resin does have a bit of a golden color depending on how long you've had it. (the hardener turns a bit amber with age) But its plenty clear enough for most wood. If the surface is large I'd use an adhesive roller (tiny short nap) and roll the horizontal surfaces. Try to move the piece around so that you are working on horizontal surfaces as much as possible. Apply a thin coat quickly and let it level out. It'll fill the pores but might take more than one pass. Or put it on thicker and know you will have some sanding to do. The wipe off technique works but you'll scrub a lot out when you wipe, so more coats are required.

[John Baranowski]

Similar to what John C. stated, I have wet sanded using wet/dry paper and liberon finishing oil. It darkens the wood as oil normally would, but the pores are filled with the slurry created by the oil and dust, matching the color of the wood. Once that is complete, you can apply a film layer or other desired finish.

[Dan Friedrichs]

I just bought a tub of the Crystalac clear pore filler (from Rockler). Seems to work well. Dries fast. I put on 3 coats, sanding in between, and it fully filled pores in walnut. I've used the multiple-coats-of-shellac method in the past, but this was quite a bit faster.

[Tad Capar]

Hood finishing (hoodfinishing.com)sells "quick drying wood grain filler" $28.95/gal, it's a lacquer based filler that is a clear wood filler. Or, if you prefer a water based, they sell that too, for $29.95. Shipping water based would be less than lacquer (special packaging).