European alternatives for Timbermate?

Hi fellow builders

Timbermate seems to be the ultimate product for grain filling but as with some other great products used in Australia and everywhere else - it's not available in Europe. 😞 I could order it from US through Amazon or Ebay but the cost would be price + 200-300% shipping costs and shipping time up to 6 weeks. 30€ + for small jar of puddy seems a lot in the long run.

My question is : has anyone living in EU found any other grain filler suitable for guitars and mainly for stain use? Many of them seem to not take stains well probably because of the chemicals in them and therefore are best suited for paint finishes. Nice selection of shades and colors would be a plus.

On the same subject : has anyone tried to mix the grain filler with some form of color - powder form or liquid , maybe some stains? I got the idea of maybe using the grain filler for example in black to pop the grains and then applying the stains afterwards.

Any report on success with a product or experiences with coloring would be appreciated. Since I'm a beginner I have these wild Ideas that could end up in a disaster so save me from myself.

Arzi

a coloured grain filler to pop the timber usually works well.
I've heard of , wait for it, egg whites being used quite effectively for grain filler...
Or use a coloured stain to pop the grain, sand it off and just go from there. Whilst there are plenty of advocates against thick finishes, a thick clear on top of stain will alleviate the need for grain filling.
Or practice on scraps with a local products as a grain filler and see what the test results yield, you might find the next new thing

Hi Stan

Thank you for the advice. And yes I've heard about egg whites and sawdust - though I might just leave the old school to those who master it.

The idea was to use TO on the finish with stains in stead if laquer and that's why I need to fill the grains as good as possible.

Anyway - just thought that I could save some time if someone already had a working product to recommend.

Will keep on searching.

Arzi

ok Arzi, then yes you'll need a grain filler. Try your local timber merchant for advice perhaps

Tru Oil can be used as a pore fill as well https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BcwhHRxN7a0.

Hi Brendan

I'll look in to that. Thanks.

Arzi