How many coats of grain filler ?

[Steve1]

I am currently working on finishing some Sapele.

My finishing recipe is 4 coats of super-blonde shellac, 4 coats of Aquacoat, the at least 4 coats of water-based poly (GF).

The Aquacoat instructions say one or two coats.  I know that's not going to do it, so I put 4.  I put it on with a paper towel and circular motion.  But I have 3 coats of poly on right now and pretty clearly the grain is not very well filled.    Maybe more coats of poly will better fill it.  (I find it more obvious after the poly)

Sapele is an open grain wood, but I thought less than something like red oak. 
How many coats of Aquacoat do you use ?
Have you found techniques to get better fill. 

 

[Steve1]

Hmmm.... maybe it's not just me.
Aquacoat also sells a "new and improved" version.    Have not seen it at the places I normally shop, however.

Aqua Coat’s water based NEW and IMPROVED High Performance Clear Wood Grain Filler will perform better than our previous clear grain filler.  It has higher solids, better fill and will perform better in less coats.

 

[woodferret]

I assume you are sanding back?

 

[cdconey]

let the GF Poly cure die back, level sand and then more coats of gloss, finish with final coat of desired sheen.

You could also use GF Enduro sanding sealer, it builds easily and sands easily. 

 

[Steve1]

I assume you are sanding back?

Yes, I lightly sand between coats.

I have used a plastic blade a couple of times, but find the surface is not as smooth as paper towel method surface.  Results in more sanding between coats.
 
But I did find one fellow online who's technique is to only sand after the final coat.

 

[woodferret]

I sand pretty aggressively between filler coats (other brand). Basically high spots are returned to the wood surface.  Repeat rinse.  Only after do I switch to top coats.

 

[Packard]

I recently refaced the cabinets in my kitchen and painted the new doors and drawer fronts.  The boxes (mostly the face frames) which were in red oak also needed to be painted.  I did not want the grain to telegraph through the paint.

I applied Park’s grain filler (now “Pro”).  It is intended for wood flooring.  It dries very hard and sands easily (and did not clog the sandpaper).  I thinned the pre-mixed filler with water to a thick slurry and applied it with a foam brush across the grain.  I allowed it to dry for about 5 minutes and then used a Bondo plastic scraper to remove the excess. 

I primed and painted. 

It left an occasional open pore.  A second coat took care of those.  But I quickly abandoned the effort because I switched from 1/2” overlay hinges to 1” overlay.  That left just 1/4” of exposed face frame all around. I decided that the open grain was not objectionable with that small amount of exposure.

The wide (3”) foam brush works very well when the viscosity is just right.  I suspect that one coat would have been possible if I perfected my application technique.

Note:  Not all foam brushes are alike.  You want brushes that have very fine pores and are fairly stiff.  Do not wet the brush.  It will make the brush too soft.  The slurry I made was sufficiently viscous to prevent the foam from getting “wet” and soft. 

I used Bondo brand scrapers, but I think any plastic scraper would work.  I use about a 4 to 5” wide version. 

“Pro” is available in the flooring section of both Lowes and Home Depot.  It is, I believe, a Rustoleum company, so widely distributed.

Addendum:  Home Depot and Amazon still show this product.  But it does not appear on the factory site.  It may be going out of production.