Pore Filling with Dyed Drywall Compound: It Didn't Work for Me!

I'd rather be a s--t sucker than a drywaller.

Part of a conversation that I overheard on a construction site.



I'm on a bit of a deadline.

I go back to my day job as a historic preservation carpenter in one month and I just got an order for a seven string flamenco guitar.

I've got 2 guitars in the works, I want to get them all done by the middle of this summer while working a full time job.

A long time ago, I used a pore filler on an early guitar thinking that it was "the way to go!" in finishing that guitar. All I remember is the endless sanding down to the wood only to find that I needed to fill the pores again.

It sucked.



This week I succumbed to what I thought might be quick, easy and high quality, I got some drywall compound and stained it black.




I filled the pores, wiped off as much of the compound as I could (I went through a lot of shop paper towels!), let the compound dry for a couple of hours and then sanded the back and sides. Hmm, sort of worked and decided to fill the whole thing again, I let it dry over night.




I started sanding this morning, using 320 grit paper, according to the instructions, and I ended up getting out a card scraper so I could see the wood. Again, hmph! I scraped and sanded and then blew off all the dust with my compressor and air nozzle. While I was blowing the wood I could actually see pieces of drywall compound being lifted out of the pores.

The last time I try using that technique of pore filling!




I got out some dark blonde shellac, EverClear, 4F pumice, olive oil and the French polish pads. I soaked the wood as much as I could with shellac and then I cheated - I began applying pumice with alcohol, shellac and olive oil. I wanted to fill the pores as quick as I could.




And it worked.

I will go back and level sand the finish, but first I want to seal the rosewood as best as I can. I am using ebony to bind this guitar and the binding laminate will be curly maple. The last thing I want is for the maple to become pink from the rosewood dust, I figure that sealing the rosewood before I cut the binding ledges and install the binding will save me some grief.

I really want to say that using that drywall compound was a waste of my time, I can't because it taught me that the really old tried and true methods can be the best.

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