Stewmac timbermate

[hummingbird]

Can I use timbermate pore filler to fill voids between binding and the body. Also can I use it to fill gaps in shell inlays instead of epoxy?

[Ben-Had]

Color match will be your biggest problem doing either of those with timber mate. Better to use the epoxy for inlay and wood dust and glue for the other.

[B. Howard]

A product like this will need to have finish applied over it otherwise it will never stay. So if the inlays you mention are on the fingerboard then the answer is not unless you will be finishing the surface, but I would still recommend against using it there, the finish on a fingerboard will wear through in time and possibly expose the filler and lead to it's failure. Between bindings and body would depend on species of wood and size of gap. Generally a repair like that works better on darker colored woods and looks very bad on lighter ones. Another consideration is will you be staining the body? If so anything you fill those gaps with will need to take stain or it will stand right out.

[Tarhead]

Timbermate is not exclusive to StewMac. Most home stores and Woodworking shops have it also. It darkens after top coating. Definitely test before.

[hummingbird]

Thanks guy. Good info. The reason I'm interested is I'm doing an inlay on a headstock with white limba. It very light, almost white and timbermate comes in different colours including a pretty good match.

Also, since timbermate is water based do you think i could cover it with nitro.

[0018G]

I've used Timbermate to grain fill a wood patch in a repair and had no problems topcoating with nitro. I'm sure Stew Mac recommends it for grain filler under nitro as well.

[tippie53]

As an inlay artist I can tell you the tricks are learning how to fill. Often dust and shellac makes a finish friendly filler. Some fillers on inlay can Halo the inlay.
Ebony is the easiest wood to fill . The lighter the wood the more difficult. Learning how to layout and cut the pocket is so critical.