Can I grain fill after 3 coats of laquer?

[Jeff Monson]

In the final finishing of a mahogany writing desk, I have darkened the wood, used blo and I now have 3 coats of semigloss laquer, I didnt think the open grain would bother me but I would like to fill the grain on the top at the very least. Is it too late? or is there something that I can do besides building up coats of laquer?

[Jason Beam]

i'm not sure if a filler would look right at this point, but I think you could do a slurry coat of lacquer - pour on some lacquer and use some fine-grit sandpaper to form a slurry and use that to fill the grain. Then a couple more coats on top should get you to glass-smooth.

In theory, anyway :)

[Thad Nickoley]

How exactly do you apply the slurry. Do you skim it off, wipe it off?

[Phil Phelps]

Thad, I think I'd stay with building the lacquer. It won't take that long. Are you spraying?

[Bill Arnold]

Depending on how much the grain is still evident to the touch, I'd agree with Phil. I've done something similar and the process will work with a bit of patience.

On a side note, I always spray clear gloss of whatever product I'm using to build a finish. This helps keep a nice depth to the finish. If I want a semi-gloss or satin appearance, I'll rub out the final coat to the sheen I want.

[Jeff Monson]

I ended up building up coats and sanding back to fill the grain on the top of the desk, yes I was spraying with a graco hvlp, it took about 9 coats and alot of 220 paper but it came out really nice.

http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=121196