If I use a grain filler on red oak, will it markedly change the appearance and color of the final finish compared to the appearance if I had not used a filler? This would be for kitchen cabinets I'm building from red oak. I want the color to match some other furniture I built and plan to use the same finishing sequence. Seems like filling the open grain of the oak would be more sanitary in a kitchen but I don't want to drastically change the way the finish looks or disguise the wood species. Thanks
Filling grain on kitchen cabinets
Jan 10, 2006
3 Replies
try clear grain filler. that's all I use now when I want a level oak surface.
Dave
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there have been advances in grain fillers in the past few years . Used to be the procedure was to sand out stain apply a clear washcoat and then apply the colored grain filler . The filler had to be lightly sanded to remove the excess on the surface .The problem was often the sanding removed all or part of the underlying stain making for a blotchy finish . Trying to be safe and not sand too much on the other hand often ended with the grain being obscured by the remaining filler on the surface .
Now new fillers have emerged which are water based that will take stain as well as the parent wood . So the procedure now is to sand out apply clear filler sand out [as much as you like] again leaving the filler in the grain. then apply stain and finish
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