Official Luthiers Forum!

Eric, the reference to Cyndy Burton was a quote from a demonstration she had done many years ago and she may very well be using epoxy now. The honduran mahogany I am filling is the back and sides and is quite dark in color actually. I usually don't pore fill my necks and this one happens to be maple, so no need anyway. Strangely enough, the first guitar I ever French polished came out beautiful and I have never been able to repeat that. It may have been a fluke, but on that first one I followed the older Milburn tutorial very closely and was very happy with the results. On subsequent ones I have varied the technique and tried other suggestions, and the results have never been as good. This time, once I get through the pore filling portion, I am going to go back and follow that tutorial again and see what happens.

Barry --- conceptually is this product (Goodfilla Clear) supposed to be sanded back so that, other than the material in the pores it must be all removed prior to next step-- be that sealer or what ever?

Thanks

My concern would be witness lines -- which could/would be left (??) if the filler was total removed in some areas and not cleaned off in other areas on the same surface.

The powder in the filler is fully absorbed into the finish. If not sanded properly, excess filler will turn clear, but it depends on how much of it is left. I would suggest a seal/wash coat first, and then fill.

Ok, I'm going to say in my own words what I think I am reading from you to see if I understand correctly. Since I use shellac to FP, I should seal the guitar first with shellac, then use Goodfilla to fill the pores, and I can then sand back to smooth, and it won't matter if I leave Goodfilla, bare wood or shellac before I continue to finish using shellac. I won't see witness lines or blotchiness. Is that right?
thanks, MIke

That's correct Mike.