Acoustic Guitar Construction

I tried a couple of search queries and found no mention, so has anyone tried Aqua-Coat clear water-based pore filler? Robby O'Brien has a YouTube video promoting it and demonstrating it's use. A quart of it from Woodcraft is about $45.00 with shipping added in, so I'd certainly like to hear some informed opinions before spending my money.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AT-h8bNrWY0

I have not used that specific brand -- however I have tested several other "water base clear" the composition is similar all use use silica --- first it takes a lot of chemical to get the pores filled. I hated the fact that they all raised the grain excessively (as do the WB top coatings) requiring a bunch of re-sanding -- not good. But the really bad news is that the silica is not transparent, actually white, so after several coats on "dark" wood the pore filler begins to haze -- the clarity is gone! $.02

Oh yeah -- I think you can get a pint for about twenty bucks elsewhere.

ken cierp wrote:I have not used that specific brand -- however I have tested several other "water base clear" the composition is similar all use use silica --- first it takes a lot of chemical to get the pores filled. I hated the fact that they all raised the grain excessively (as do the WB top coatings) requiring a bunch of re-sanding -- not good. But the really bad news is that the silica is not transparent, actually white, so after several coats on "dark" wood the pore filler begins to haze -- the clarity is gone! $.02

Oh yeah -- I think you can get a pint for about twenty bucks elsewhere.

Yeah, a pint is $19.00, but the shipping is only a couple of dollars cheaper than for a quart. :/

Robby's endorsement may, or may not be paid (?) but he suggests that it does not have the issues found with other WB "clear" fillers. Thus, why I ask.

Hi Jim

I haven't used that WB product, but I came across another one that a local electric guitar builder uses and really likes, so his endorsement means a lot to me.
http://www.woodessence.com/Guitar-Instr ... -C117.aspx This is a Canadian distributor for Brite-tone, but I'm sure you will be able to readily find it in the US.
Their product line includes a pore filler, sanding sealer, and top coat. I plan to use it on a future acoustic build.

I've got a quart coming from Woodcraft. I'll report back on how well it works.

I just tried the AquaCoat pore filler on black walnut. I followed the directions, tried wiping it on with a rag like Robbi-O demonstrates and found that after it dries, the pores sink quite a lot. I tried a few coats that way, sanding lightly in between, still couldn't get them filled. I also tried a foam brush, with similar results. Then I tried spreading it on with a credit card and that worked a little better, but the pores still sunk after it dried. In all cases it looked good when wet but the pores sunk visibly when dry and I just couldn't get them filled. Maybe you need to put it on really thick and the sand it all off? I gave up after about 5 or 6 coats of the stuff, decided to just do a semi-open-pore finish instead. The result looks good but it's not really pore-filled and I think the stuff was a waste of time and money. With enough coats and patience I'm sure one could achieve a pore-filled finish but it didn't live up to the claims in my experience.

Try epoxy on top of it - System 3 SB-112 or Zpoxy.