Official Luthiers Forum!

Happy New Year to you all. I've had trouble finding the time to work on our favorite objects, but this weekend opened up a little, and I've been in the shop all day

Here's a little bit different pore filling question. I'm closing up the body of a dr%$d - not exactly my type of guitar but there were mitigating circumstances. The guitar is decidedly non-porous - Lutz top, English Sycamore back and sides, domestic maple neck. No need for pore filling there, but ...
All the trim is koa. Koa bindings, koa fretboard bindings, koa headplate and back headplate.

So, what do you do when nothing besides the trim needs pore filling. Do you judiciously fill the trim?
If your favorite pore filler is Z-poxy, do you coat the entire body? Will the Z-poxy pop the figure of the Sycamore, which is nicely flamed?

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Jim Kirby
kirby@udel.edu

I have never done this, so I can't answer what other eperienced luthiers here would do, but I think I know what I'd do. I would not pore fill the bindings. I think that it would look great with the finish sinking into the pores of the binding. It would give a nice contrast and would also make the bindings seem more warm and natural. That is assuming there'd be no problems that would develop because of this. Just my .02.

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Mike

The only thing nescessary for evil to thrive is for good men to do nothing.

Jim my friend I would fill the bindings and head plates, where ever the Koa is just as you would using Z-Poxy and the same techniques. I would not fill the non-porous woods.

Just judiciously apply the Z-Poxy where you want it and don't sweat getting it on the places that you don't want it. Once cured a quick leveling and then a second coat. Once that is cured sand back to the bare wood leaving it only in the pores. Now you have a bare wood guitar with the pores filled.

Oh, so sorry, regarding popping the figure on the rest of the guitar I personally would use finish, what ever you plan to use which I suspect is nitro or FP. You could so a 50 : 50 wipe coat of Z-Poxy and DA but don't sand through this coat at any time during the finishing process........ That's why I would use finish as finish and pore filler as pore filler.