Smoothing the Grain Pattern

 Today I want to show you one of our little 'tricks that we use in finishing.  Often, our clients want a perfectly smooth finish on their furniture. Wood naturally has texture to it.  If you have furniture hade out of wood with open pores, then you will see little divits wherever those pores are, even once the finishing process is complete.  So to smooth this texture out for your clients, we can do something called a 'pore filler'.  That is what you see in this first picture.
This paste fills in the grain and once the excess in removed you will have a perfectly smooth surface, as you see in this second picture.  The pore filler does leave color in the grain, so it is important to choose a product that gives color you are happy with.  So you would choose a darker filler if you are using a darker stain, or a lighter filler with a lighter stain.

Once the process of applying and removing the pore filler is complete, we can continue with our regular staining and finishing procedures.  The pore filler simply serves to make a perfectly smooth surface.  It also helps to enhance the natural grain pattern, since that color is left in the pores.  As you can see this buffet top has come out beautifully with this process.