Filling grain

[Steve Milbocker]

I built a red oak pyramid over the long weekend and I must say the oak is not as much fun to work as the osage I just finished. The grain is so open that it looks like it will be a bear to finish. I looked into using a commercial grain filler but it looks like a PITA. Do any of you guys have any suggestions or short cuts to a decent finish for open grained wood?

[Thwackaddict]

Wipe-on Poly?does good on floors so why not bow wood,i'd go with the gym floor grade.

[George Tsoukalas]

I sand right down to 220 grain. I dampen a paper towel and dampen th wood. Let dry. Lightly sand again and repeat until the grain no longer raises. Stain and I use a spar urethane. Tru Oil will fill grain but I use it only on osage. Jawge

[Pat B]

I never use fillers. Tru-Oil will fill the grain. You'll have to add a few extra coats probably.

[Josh]

I use tru oil on all my bows.. Usually use 4 thin coats then buff with 0000 steel wool between the next 3 or 4 coats.  fills the grain up nicely on all woods I have tried and leaves a nice glossy smooth finish.  Each coat dries in 3 or 4 hours too.

[walkabout]

if the grain is really bothersome i use superglue applied iin a few coats and sanded in between. its gotta be pretty bad for me to do this though.

[Grunt]

I wet sand with 320 silicone carbide paper and Watco Danish Oil as a lube. The slurry created does a good job of filling the grain.

[JackCrafty]

The commercial stuff can be a pain but there are different kinds.  In any case, you will have to do a lot of layering and/or sanding to get a glass smooth finish.  I've tried using a filler once and I seem to remember that the most important step is sealing the wood prior to filling.  The wipe-on variety of sealers and fillers are what I've used.  I don't care for the kind that you spread on with a knife or some other stiff applicator.