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 Post subject: Grain Filling Cocobolo
PostPosted: Wed Oct 25, 2017 7:05 am 
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Cocobolo
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Joined: Fri Oct 31, 2014 9:33 pm
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Location: Mount Vernon, Ohio
First name: Greg
Last Name: Maxwell
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State: Ohio
Country: USA
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I use Chemcraft pore filler from LMI for most wood species and get good results. Everybody hates pore filling, myself included, but Chemcraft has worked well for me. However, the black Ebony color turns tan when used to fill Cocobolo. I spray two sealer coats then fill, and I've had this issue with several Coco samples from several different sources. I'm sure its the oil. I would prefer to avoid the mess and learning curve of using epoxy as a grain filler but I'll do it if that is the best approach for filling Coco. Any suggestions that work well in your experience?

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PostPosted: Wed Oct 25, 2017 7:15 am 
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Brazilian Rosewood
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I believe that there is an epoxy pore filling vid here on the OLF archives by jay lichty, or my wife can send you the link if you PM us. Currently using med super glue as a filler .Have watched beau Hannam/s video on filling with med super glue. Can you tint the LMI filler ?? What about locking in the coco colour with 2 coats of clear or tinted shellac , before filling . ? Pre- wiping the coco with acetone might dry out some of the oils , You mentioned a sealer. is that a shellac , I have a siamese red tinted shellac that is either from shellac shack in oregon or some other shellac dealer in S ca . By using a reddish tinted shellac , you might avoid the tan look . as always practice on scrap first . Good luck



These users thanked the author ernie for the post: Greg Maxwell (Wed Oct 25, 2017 2:13 pm)
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PostPosted: Wed Oct 25, 2017 2:18 pm 
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Cocobolo
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I spray Behlen vinyl sealer, two coats. The filler can be tinted but I used a premixed Ebony that was already tinted black. Dries jet black on Walnut, Rosewood, etc but turns tan when applied over the sealer on Coco. As I said, I'd prefer not to go the epoxy direction unless it is the necessary solution. I've seen the videos of the process.

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PostPosted: Wed Oct 25, 2017 2:38 pm 
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Brazilian Rosewood
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Dang, I hated the smell of that sealer crap...never used it much.
I used the Stew-Mac water base ebony fill on white oak all the time. Stuff comes out grey, but I always added a lot of black Tempura powder and TransTint black. Between the two, you can maintain consistency. As I recall, took a lot of each to get the filler to black. Test on scrap, fill and sand off.



These users thanked the author Haans for the post: dzsmith (Wed Oct 25, 2017 7:43 pm)
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PostPosted: Wed Oct 25, 2017 5:41 pm 
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Cocobolo
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First name: Greg
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This is not an issue of the filler not being black enough. It works great on every other species of wood except Coco.

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PostPosted: Thu Oct 26, 2017 8:30 am 
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Brazilian Rosewood
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Guess you got a problem...


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PostPosted: Thu Oct 26, 2017 4:35 pm 
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For me, I'd use epoxy. Not really much of a learning curve. Would look fabulous on the coco.
Ken


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PostPosted: Thu Oct 26, 2017 5:17 pm 
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Brazilian Rosewood
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I/ve never sprayed the behlens vinyl sealer so cant comment. If you have a fan or do it outside your bsmt greg the padding of med super glue small section at a time is super easy IMHo easier than epoxy .I hate the smell of it (epoxy) , and don/t enjoy sanding it back.I use 2p-10 med super glue from local metro hdwds Beau hannam uses starbond in the youtube video he only does 2 or 3 coats max , and he seems to pad it in in small circles. I/ve tried it , and it is easy peasy. Gud luck hope you find a soloution bliss



These users thanked the author ernie for the post: Greg Maxwell (Thu Oct 26, 2017 7:46 pm)
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PostPosted: Fri Oct 27, 2017 9:54 am 
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Mahogany
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First name: Craig
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I've only used cocobolo for back and sides twice, in each case, I used epoxy for grain filling, worked very well. Course, I used epoxy for grain filling on all my guitars now. I've tried lots of other materials and methods for grain filling, settled on epoxy about 30 guitars ago, works for me. Here is the back of one of my cocos. The finish is polished short oil varnish.

https://craigbumgarner.files.wordpress. ... -pic-2.jpg

I use WEST with 207 hardener. Very clear, low amine blush, sets up hard enough to sand in 24 hours, no corning. I've found letting the epoxy induce for about 10 minutes after mixing, before using, helps get a good solid cure in such thin films. I squeegee two coats as thin as possible, sanding well between coats. If I break through which I usually do, I wipe the entire surface with a little epoxy and an alcohol soaked rag right before I squeegee another coat, this drives the epoxy in and the color match is perfect. If I have done a good job of initial sanding and prep, two squeegee coats is enough, but if more is needed, I do it. If I have break through after the final sanding, which I almost always do, again, I wipe on epoxy with an alcohol soaked rag. If you get the proportions right, it almost feels like French polish for a little while, before the alcohol evaporates. The epoxy ends up being very thin in the end but provides a very solid base for any other finish going forward. For me, that is usually French polish. Doing a good job with the epoxy greatly reduces the time spent on French polish and a high gloss comes up very quickly.

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