Best method for sealing wood prior to painting?

[gjbassist]

I have been searching for a good method for sealing/filling in porous wood prior to painting. All I keep coming up in my searches are the putty type wood fillers. I'm looking for something to apply to the entire body before painting to fill in the grain and make the finish as smooth as possible. What specific products are available and where can I get them?

 

[FBB Custom]

Sounds like you are searching with the wrong terms. Try "grain filler".

 

[gjbassist]

This is what I'm looking for:
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Anyone have any experience with this product or know where I can get a similar one locally?

 

[gbarcus]

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Try this. had good success with the water based filler. Had do do it a couple of times on some burl i had before it gave a smooth enough finish I could apply the sanding sealer to.

 

[AmadeusXeno]

Since you are painting then just put some primer on there and sand it down with some fine grit sand paper. That will fill everything in for a smooth surface to paint.

 

[Jazzdogg]

I have been searching for a good method for sealing/filling in porous wood prior to painting. All I keep coming up in my searches are the putty type wood fillers. I'm looking for something to apply to the entire body before painting to fill in the grain and make the finish as smooth as possible. What specific products are available and where can I get them?

I prefer oil-based pre fillers, but epoxy also works well. Make sure you allow time for shrinkage and curing of the pore filler before painting; if you rush, the pores can peek through the finial finish as the pore filler cures and shrinks.

 

[silentk]

I'm still in the throes of learning how to finish myself (and with two of my projects right now, the hard way), but something to keep in mind is that "sealers" and "fillers" are different things, and you'll probably need both. I've used Timbermate filler most recently with good results, and Target Coatings clear filler as well. For sealers, I've been using shellac, which I've been told is the best thing for sealing and barrier coats (like between a water-based stain and oil-based topcoat, for example). You might try a 1lb cut shellac sealer first, then grain fill, which can help with the shrinkage that Jazzdogg mentioned. I'd get dewaxed shellac flakes and some denatured alcohol and mix it yourself -- I've run into some seriously annoying problems with cracks in my water-based lacquer topcoats after using commercially mixed shellac as a barrier (in spray form from Zinsser).

 

[Jazzdogg]

I'm still in the throes of learning how to finish myself (and with two of my projects right now, the hard way), but something to keep in mind is that "sealers" and "fillers" are different things, and you'll probably need both. I've used Timbermate filler most recently with good results, and Target Coatings clear filler as well. For sealers, I've been using shellac, which I've been told is the best thing for sealing and barrier coats (like between a water-based stain and oil-based topcoat, for example). You might try a 1lb cut shellac sealer first, then grain fill, which can help with the shrinkage that Jazzdogg mentioned. I'd get dewaxed shellac flakes and some denatured alcohol and mix it yourself -- I've run into some seriously annoying problems with cracks in my water-based lacquer topcoats after using commercially mixed shellac as a barrier (in spray form from Zinsser).

Fillers, epoxy, and shellac are all prone to shrinking - to some degree. Silentk was right about shellac: used de-waxed, and mix your own from flakes. Slow-set epoxies shrink less than fast-set epoxies.

All of the pro finishers I know complete a finish sample for every new finish, or combination of finishing products, they use. Every product used and process performed is documented and attached to the back of samples for future reference.

Finish samples are one technique that's practically guaranteed to improve the quality of finishing jobs for beginners. Practice. Document. Experiment. Don't apply finish to a completed project until thoroughly satisfied with the finish samples.