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When using epoxy (either silvertip or epoxy), I try to sand back the epoxy on the surface and only leave it in the pores. I'll start the process with sanding to 320g or so then using an air compressor to blow out the pores. The challenge that I run into is opening new pores in the process. I use a block of wood and long strokes in an attempt to avoid uneven sanding. Ultimately I'll get a good pore fill but I tend to apply several coats…

Howdy folks, I'm a 2026 graduate of the two year guitar program at Red Wing (Minnesota State College Southeast). Between my two years at Red Wing I worked at Collings Guitars in Austin, TX for two years in the acoustic neck department, shaping and finish sanding ~2000 necks, radiusing and gluing ~750 fingerboards, and pressing ~100 sets of frets. I also spent a couple months in the finishing department level sanding and pore filling ~300…

Hello — I would like to finish a mahogany electric neck and body with wipe on poly (probably Minwax satin) and would like to pore fill with Z-Poxy. I can’t find a definitive word on their compatibility. - Can I just wipe on the poly coats after block sanding the 2-3 Z-Poxy coats? - Should the Z-Poxy be sanded all the way back to wood or just smoothed/flattened? - Is a coat of unwaxed shellac between the Z-Poxy and the wipe in…

So, I've stained the body and neck and I'm in the process of applying several (3 or 4) coats of epoxy to them for pore filling. I watched Michaels video on the subject. My question is: When sanding the epoxy I beleive I should stay above the wood (stay in the epoxy) since it is stained, right??? When doing this same process on a body and neck that is not stained, I could sand back to the wood without consequence if I'm consistent…

I am switching from NC lacquer to EM6000. I also want to switch from black WB filler to blackened epoxy grain fill. My question relates to keeping the color in the pores and off the surface wood, and whether to vinyl seal before and/or after epoxy fill, I already know how to tint epoxy black. Could black grain fill style be accomplished with black epoxy as the grain filler and would a vinyl sealer be used at all, or just use EM6000 for…

Customer brought in his D35 which he bought new 6 months ago from a local shop in here in Toronto. The way he describes it— the finish on the back of the neck began to ripple, and in one spot bubbled and chipped off about the size of a quarter. Where the lacquer has chipped off, there’s still sealer and pore fill underneath. I’ve heard about finish adhesion issues on Martins of various eras. The rest of the neck finish is starting to ri…

Has anyone used the aqua coat pore filler? If so are there any issues I would need to know about. I'm planning to fill natural walnut (no stain). Should I use a sealer first?

Hey All I am finishing a ukulele and I am getting all these weird pits. I was able to drop fill a lot of them but most of them do not want to stay filled and it is driving me mad! Anyone have an idea as to what may be causing these little pits? I used StewMac's dry power pore filler and their lacquer. I'm about to strip it and start over because at this point I've been chasing my tail so much I'm going crossed eyed. Thoughts?

I repaired this double neck SG geetar with mahogany splints. Sealed the new hog with shellac, pore filled with ca, more shellac, then a thin layer of Stewmac white color tone in nitro, then a few coats of poly, then Mohawk ultra flo (cuz I can’t buff the neck) . I seem to be getting strange bleed through into the white (it wasn’t there before). Tannins??? Ideas? Thanks