Quote Originally Posted by Eric67 View Post
Hi Theorn,
I did grain-fill the top too, first to fill the wood fibers to minimize the quantity of poly absorbed, and second to bring the quilted maple to pop up. I simply added some black tint in the wood filler which was also thinned with water to be easier to apply. After that I did a light sanding (beware of the very thin veneer while doing this). I am a beginner also, so I was just experimenting with some of the stuff I have seen.
I'll use a grain filler for the back but I think that I'll skip it for the maple veneer. My big question at this stage is, Should I use black pigment to accent the maple top before going back with my white stain. I want the finished result to be a white washed center burst with black/grey stain around the edges and back.
Thanks for the tips. You've definitely helped to steer me in the right direction. Picking up a piece of quilted maple to test different options seems like the way to approach this for sure.