CrystaLacWood Grain Filler, Quart

A pore filler is NOT the same as a sanding sealer - a sanding sealer is applied so your final topcoats aren't drawn into the wood unevenly; for my application I used orange shellac but there's a whole variety of them out there. For that matter, sanding sealer is definitely NOT the same as a pore filler; pore filler is applied after the sanding sealer to fill the pores in woods like mahogany, oak, etc. There are oil and water-based pore fillers out there; from here on out this is the only one I'll be using. It drys 100% clear and really, really makes your final surface smooth and glossy. Because it's water-based I could just rinse my hands / tools off (I'd still recommend wearing gloves when working with it since it also does a nifty job of filling in pores on skin).I read the reviews, both positive and negative, before deciding to try this for a veneered bar top project. The reviews, especially the one from Chris Kemper, were much more useful than the half of a sentence printed on the side of the bucket. To reiterate and expand on his (very helpful) review:1) Shake this product well before you open it (you can shake it after you open it, too, but I don't think you'll be happy with the results or subsequent cleanup). It should be the consistency of sour cream2) Use a scraper to pull a small amount from the tub (I used an old Border's Bookstore gift card - it's good for something at least...). Work the filler into the wood against the grain in one direction, then in the opposite direction, then with the wood grain in one direction, etc. etc. The idea is to work it into the pores in as many directions as possible.3) Take one final pass over the wood to scrape up any extra - there will probably be a light coating on the surface but you don't want any obvious boogers or snail trails.4) Wait. Seriously. You can't rush this part. Go see a movie, take up extreme ironing, get a good night's sleep - whatever. You'll need probably 4 to 6 hours minimum (more if you really slathered it on) before you can move on.5) Sand. I'd use nothing more aggressive than 220 grit. The idea is to clean the surface off and scuff it up for another application, not to remove material.6) Wipe it down with a tack cloth / rag with mineral spirits / etc. Don't use water - this is water-based stuff and you could cause your initial application to roll out if you get it wet.7) Repeat the application / waiting / sanding / wiping process. At this point you can either make the call to proceed with finishing or apply another thin coat into the wood pored.I used multiple coats of poly afterwards and got a real "wet" look to my piece - definitely worth taking the extra step to fill the pores. The only thing I didn't use was stain (didn't need it for this project) so I don't know where in the process it might go (I'd assume before the sanding sealer and pore filler, but someone else may have a better idea).All in all, well worth the money and additional effort if you really want to make your project shine.

I think this product is ok... it's directions are incredibly poor and you have to rely on others posts here. I did that and came away just ok. I filled both a white oak and red oak table and it took several coats and did not fill completely. Based on how you have to apply, let dry a bit, scape and force into the pores, you end up with a huge amount of wasted product in the trash. From that perspective, and based on it's price.. it's a tough buy. That said, there are not many alternative.One thing I will recommend, shake the tub vigorously when you get it. Mine looked like cottage cheese and would not dry very fast until I shook it up, and it turned into the consistency of thin sour cream (much smoother) and dried very fast.... so don't do large areas.

My latest cabinet is made from oak (I seldom use oak) and I used two coats of stain, and then two coats of lacquer with more coats to go. But, I didn't like the deep pores of oak - something I could see and feel. I settled on trying this product all though reading the reviews made me apprehensive. I decided on using a 3-4" putty knife for application and a second larger one to keep the first one clean (much like I do when drywall mudding). I started on a small area to see how that went, then eventually a larger area. I was careful to remove as many 'ridges' or other spots to avoid sanding as some comments made sanding seem very hard to do.I finished with the first application, and came back in less than an hour to check it. I gently used 320 grit sandpaper and 'licked' the surface lightly as the white powder dust showed me this filler was dry. No indication of sandpaper clogging at all. It was easy. After vacuuming the dust, I then applied a second coat, this time in about 1/4th the time it took the first apprehensive coat. This product in my experience with it, is perfect for ease of application and result. A couple putty knives, not credit cards or other measures, works fine. Before starting, I made sure the putty knives were cleaned of any other materials and sanded the blades as a final preparation in assuring a smooth coat.So it makes me wonder why others had the difficulties. Are those comments all from 5 or 6 years ago, and the product is improved? Or maybe they used the product on raw or stained wood not having a lacquer or poly coat before this product? In my new experience with this product, it did exactly what I wanted, with no difficulties at all. I will wait a few hours or overnight and then decide if I want to experiment with applying a final stain coat over it before a few more coats of lacquer, or just proceed with the lacquer. A sticker on the lid says "new, stainable".A great product and I will certainly use it again any time I use an open grain wood like oak.

I build custom guitars in Hawaii and most of the time use Koa for these instruments. Koa has large grain and takes quite a bit of material to fill before the finish is applied. I used this on a couple projects (did them both at the same time - stupid mistake)... this dried not clear as advertised. When sanding to get final level this rolled up and gummed the paper. I let it dry for several days since I am in a humid environment. I had to completely strip my projects and start over. Such as hassle and this time and material saver ended up being something that cost me more time and money in the long run... I hope I got all of this crap off and that my finishes stick. I read this stuff is great and that many guitar builders use it, but I have no idea how their finishes ended up in person... this does need a sanding before finishing and if it gums, balls and otherwise does not cure it is not worth the tub it comes in. I was also amazed that this is not suitable under shellac which many finishes are.

I never tend to follow the directions. With years of wood finishing techniques under my belt I have found that sometimes, with some careful experimenting one can find a much better way to utilize a product for a specific finished result. This product is one of those. I use an oil based sanding sealer that is allowed to fully cure and is sanded smooth. Over that I put not 1 but 2 coats of this stuff, and allow 4+ days of drying time at room temp before sanding it. Once done the item looks like a piece of glass, however open grains do not loose their appearance of depth and character through the 'glass' surface. On top of this I then apply 6+ coats of high gloss polyurethane, sanded to ever greater grits between coats. The final coat I let cure for 1 month and then polish sand to 2600 grit, wax, buff, and call it a day.This product cuts the work of achieving a true 'piano gloss' appearance down significantly. The greatest caveat is that you really do need 2 coats, and each coat needs at least 4 days to cure out.