Filling The Grain

Index

After the guitar is sanded smooth with 150 - 180 grit sand paper, if the guitar is made from an open pore wood such as mahogany, the grain should be filled with a grain filling compound so that the lacquer can obtain a smoother finish. The spruce top does not get filled; only the sides, back and neck. Here's a couple photographs from after the grain filler was applied. I had never used grain filler before; I probably could have done a better job in smoothing out the filler and removing more of the excess instead of leaving it up to the final sanding stage - it would have saved my arm muscles a little!

This is the body after some of the finish sanding is complete - it still has a ways to go.

After the guitar is finished-sanded up to 400 grit paper, it's time to apply the finish.