Acoustic Guitar Construction

I posted a question on the site of a lutherie school, thought you might like to read the comments and perhaps comment yourself?
My post:
"Yeah sure, this is a weird question, I acknowledge that. :-)

A 'friend' started to do an open-pore finish on an EIR back, using
minwax wipe-on poly. 2 coats. Now I - I mean, he - has pore-filler's
remorse and want the pores filled after all.

Can I successfully do the shellac/sawdust thing over the 2 coats of
poly, then continue with the poly once the pores are filled?
I hear your laughter, and I honor it :-) but still, could this be
done?"

Responses:
"This is actually not a dumb question. The answer is yes. Your friend can move forward with confidence. I would scuff sand the surface first."
"The laughter you hear is everyone's nervous laughter at their own
experiences. From my own limited experience and from what I have heard
from many, the perfect pore fill is hard to come by. There is probably
more grousing around the shop about pore fill than anything else during a
semester.

There seem to be a gazillion ways to do pore fill. I've seen the instructor change
his method a few times. When there are lots of ways to do something, and
people are constantly changing methods, it should tell you products or
processes are far from perfect. If there was, we would all be pore filling
the same way. So, mid-finishing pore fill is not at all uncommon.
If anyone does find the perfect pore fill, please tell us! "

"Right on. The perfect pore filling is if you could get somebody else to do
it for you. "

My $.02 ----- sanding and pore filling are what they are -- tedious and time consuming tasks. Would a marathon runner enter a race and not have the intention of doing his or here best and also fully knowing that it was surely going to take at least "X" amount of time and effort?

Going about this finishing job with a knowing attitude, rather then wishful thinking -- for me just make it another part of the process.

I never even thought about pore filling as a separate task before coming to this site.
My pore filling so far has consisted of thinned coats of the final finish sanded back.

On my next guitar with a porous wood I will try the pore filling thing.
My next build will be a KMG j-200 kit build with a parallel J-200 scratch build (my first) from ambrosia maple.
That will require some 'pore' filling (and by pore filling I mean holes)

Eric

Honestly, I don't hate pore filling nearly as much as I hate wet sanding the lacquer after it is dry. Pore filling is like a walk in the park compared to the countless evenings of wet sanding I do by hand to get a smooth finish.