Butterscotch finish on a mahogany JRM-1DC

[Guitam]

Newbie to the forum

So I have the JRM - 1DC kit and butterscotch finish on order (hopefully arriving sometime this month).

My question relates to finishing the mahogany body and neck.

I understand the timber is quite porous and you would normally use a grain filler or sanding sealer when using a "paint" finish.

Is this the case with the butterscotch Dingo finish, my preference is always for the minimum finish required but I am concerned that the timber may "swallow up" the finish and require more than expected.

So do I need to do any grain filling or will the finish do that for me?

[Joe3334]

I’d recommend grain filling, if you don’t, the mahogany will end up swallowing up more finish compared to mahogany that has been grain filled. For grain filling, I use a product called aqua coat, it’s a transparent gel-like grain filler, great stuff.

[Guitam]

hey Joe3334 thanks for the response.

I'll track some filler down just not sure about whether to use a coloured filler to highlight the grain or go clear.

Once I get the kit and trim the peghead I will have some off cuts to experiment with.

So hopefully that will answer that aesthetic question for me.

[JohnH]

I'm interested to try Aqua Coat. I haven't had any joy with timbermate, and really need to find a good alternative