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Thread: Pour filling? Necessary with Maple?

  1. #1

    Default Pour filling? Necessary with Maple?

    Today, I finished the construction aspect of my IV f5 kit. Now, final sanding and finishing. Roger Siminoff’s book discussed the finishing process in detail but it never mentions pour filling. Is this not necessary with maple? Graham McDonald, in his book does use pour filling. It leaves me a bit confused. I plan to use alcohol based dye hand applied except for the darkest area that will be air brushed and Nitrocellulose lacquer. Should I just ignore this step with figured maple?

  2. #2

    Default Re: Pour filling? Necessary with Maple?

    Maple's pretty nice closed grain stuff. I've never needed to pore fill with it .

  3. #3
    Registered User Bill Snyder's Avatar
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    Default Re: Pour filling? Necessary with Maple?

    You do not need to fill the pores on maple or spruce.
    Bill Snyder

  4. #4
    Adrian Minarovic
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    Default Re: Pour filling? Necessary with Maple?

    DON'T DO it if you want to stain/dye the wood. Especially if you are beginner. Application of sealer may prevent you from applying color evenly. These dyes need to soak into wood and sealer will prevent this and you may be left with places where you'll just smear it on the surface. Just like in places where your binding glue got on the wood and was not scraped clean thoroughly. There are some sealers that will accept some stains, bnut it will never look like stain on bare wood.
    Look for excellent John Hamlett's video of sunbursting A mandolin (MC restoration project thread) and follow that.
    Adrian

  5. #5

    Default Re: Pour filling? Necessary with Maple?

    Oops! "pore" not "pour" my bad! Yes believe it or not English is my primary language. Thanks to all for your prompt answers. You've answered the question that I've had. It was what I suspected but having it verified is wonderful. God! i love this forum. It is such a godsend to us newbies!

    Last question: What is the best PSI level to spray Nitrocellulose?

  6. #6
    Luthier&Pickup maker ret. Soundfarmer Pete's Avatar
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    Default Re: Pour filling? Necessary with Maple?

    May I suggest that if you are spraying a cellulose finish.......
    1 - VERY light colour wash of yellow stain
    2 - Clear sealing coats
    3 - Do the spray work with some colour added to the cellulose - either violin colour extract or even candy car paint colours work well.
    4 - Build colour gradually rather than mixing too strongly otherwise finish can be patchy.
    5 - Plenty of clear coats before buffing.....cellulose is mostly solvent!

    Probably everyone here knows my hatred of the very concept of staining flame maple.....LIFE TO THE FLIP/FLOP!!!!!!!

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  8. #7

    Default Re: Pour filling? Necessary with Maple?

    You dont need to, but I like too.

    I find my finishing coats are far nicer and better quality on a pore filled top than a non pore filled

  9. #8
    Mandolin tragic Graham McDonald's Avatar
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    Default Re: Pour filling? Necessary with Maple?

    Quote Originally Posted by StuartGold View Post
    Oops! "pore" not "pour" my bad! Yes believe it or not English is my primary language. Thanks to all for your prompt answers. You've answered the question that I've had. It was what I suspected but having it verified is wonderful. God! i love this forum. It is such a godsend to us newbies!

    Last question: What is the best PSI level to spray Nitrocellulose?
    I use pore filler on open grained woods like tasmanian blackwood, mahogany or walnut, but not on maple. PSI, usually I work around 30-40psi for nitro (50-50 thinners mix), but it for airbrushing the dark outside stain it would be worth experimenting with your stain/lacquer/thinners mix to see what works best. Though I haven't done it for a while, a mix of mostly thinners, a little stain and the same amount of lacquer might be a good starting point. Easier to build up the dark colour in a few coats.

    cheers

    graham

  10. #9
    Registered User sunburst's Avatar
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    Default Re: Pour filling? Necessary with Maple?

    Quote Originally Posted by StuartGold View Post
    Last question: What is the best PSI level to spray Nitrocellulose?
    Depends on the gun, tip, nozzle, the material being sprayed (viscosity, temperature, etc.) and the skill and preferences of the operator. Start out with the spray gun manufacturer's recommendations and the lacquer manufacturer's recommendations and take it from there. Most likely, you'll find that somewhere between 30 and 60 PSI will work best.

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