Durham's for pore filler

[Stephen Pereira]

I've been searching locally for a pore filler..tried local Ace hardware, HD, paint stores..all to no avail. I could order online but all water based pore fillers say "Do Not Freeze" on the label. I live in Minnesota where sub zero temps are the norm, so shipping is out of the question.

An internet search for pore fillers turned up a guitar maker's forum. I watched a video were one guy used drywall compound..another suggest the Durham product.

Anyone have any experience with either the Durham putty or drywall compound?

[Steve Schoene]

Durham's might well do a good job filling pores. But if you have worked with it you will know how much of a bear it is to sand. You would run a risk of not getting all the excess on the surface off in time. It's also pretty much opaque.

Dry wall compound is a lot more sandable. But, be aware that the stuff you buy in tubs always remains water soluble. You could use setting compound that you mix from powder. Stay away from the fast curing variety--give your self more working time with the 90 minute curing variety. Also remember that dry wall compound shrinks a lot as it cures.

My preference is for an oil based pore filler. You have more working time to get the surface cleared without sanding. It also shrinks less than waterborne pore fillers. Particularly good brands are Sherwin Williams Sherwood Natural Filler or Old Master's Woodgrain Filler both contain large percentages of silica as the filler solid which shrinks less, and which dries a bit more translucent than other brands with other fillers. (The S-W is only available in gallons, so you might want to pool with friends.)

[Bob Wingard]

While it is true that drywall compound shrinks during drying/curing ... the amount of shrinkage, especially in the powdered form (setting variety) is so slight as to not be an issue. If you're filling holes in wallboard, the premixed variety will shrink enough to probably require a second application ... when packing it into wood pores that are maybe a few thousandths of an inch in size, it is definitely not an issue.

[glenn bradley]

Durham's might well do a good job filling pores. But if you have worked with it you will know how much of a bear it is to sand.

Steve speaks true; Durham's is harder than your wood and can lead to problems if much sanding is required. The wood abrades, the Durham's doesn't resulting in what looks like a zit. I read a tip for pore filling when using an oil product like BLO or the like; Plaster of Paris(!?!). Tried it on some red oak followed by BLO (the P of P turns translucent when the oil hits it) and then oil based stain; worked great, sands super easy so even if you only need to de-nub, your fine. Who knew?

[Stephen Pereira]

Thanks to Steve, Bob and Glenn for their replies.

The concensus is to nix the Durham.

If you want to see the video where the guitar maker uses Dap drywall compound you'll have to Google "pore filler" + "spackling"..find "Luthier Tips de Jour" Utube video and your'e good to go. I'd link to it but SMC rules prohibit linking to other forums.

[Randy Henry]

Glenn, just tried the p-p on a scrap piece of red oak, what a difference! Have you done this on any raised panels and if you do, do you do the panel profile before you glue up, or just do it after the frame/panel is glued up? Seems it may be alot of work to do edges and routered profiles, but I may try it as I really liked the way the scrap turned out. I called S-W and got a price of 49.95 for the S-W Natural Filler. Think I will stay with the p-p for now. Great tip, thanks.

[Ryan Eldridge]

Randy,

Did you mix the P-P with water or did you mix it up with BLO and then apply it?

Thanks

[Stephen Pereira]

i just got done using Dap sheetrock compound to fill pores on ebonized ash. I mixed black colorant and a little water, spread the slurry on and wiped off with a rubber squeegee, let dry for 10 minutes, repeat. I let it dry for 30 minutes then sanded with maroon synthetic pad. I then rubbed on some BLO to remove the greyish haze. So far everything looks good.

My plan is to let the BLO cure and finish with shellac..we will see how it all turns out.