To fill or not to fill?

[filthyPierre]

Hi,

Getting back into building my GR-1SF kit. I did a fair bit of body prep but then it stalled.... so now I have a couple of weeks off and want to work on it.

There are quite a few places on the body where bits of wood have come out of the grain. Not from sanding, it was like this when I received it. Typical of plywood. Here's a couple of shots:



and



There's quite a few areas like this.

So what's the consensus? Should I get some sort of grain filler, or will they not be noticeable once I've stained and Dingotoned it?

I'm leaning towards filling; anyone know of a good filler I can use?

Cheers,

Pete

[Fretworn]

Sorry Pete, you will have to fill. DT will not fill those gaps. You should be able to use Timbermate. The trick will be getting the colour right.

[Simon Barden]

Probably best off with a neutral/natural coloured filler. The basswood is very light, and any of the coloured fillers will almost certainly be a darker yellow of brown. Plus a neutral filler should take up any stain better than a pre-coloured one.

[filthyPierre]

Thanks guys, yeah figured I would have to fill them in. Was wondering if I could just use something like Timbermate. They make a neutral colour that looks like it might be close. Off to Bunnings on Saturday then.

Cheers,

Pete

[wazkelly]

Yep, natural Timbermate should do the trick. Could be worth mixing in a few drops of the stain when you are 'wetting' the TM to turn it into a slurry so that the filler is coloured same as stain going over the top.

[Brendan]

Yep Timbermate - will take the stain, but may take it differently to the rest of the wood, so maybe consider Waz's recommendation above.