Minwax or Watlow, grainfiller and sealing coat

[Coach]

I've closed the box and am ready to put a finish on. I gone through a bunch of finish threads, but am not finding the answers i'm looking for.

For simplicity, I'm planning to use Minwax or Watlow clear rattlecan lacquer. I have some East System epoxy that i can use as grain filler. So, do i need to apply a sealer coat after grain filling? What if i don't apply sealer? Do i even need to grain fill with epoxy? Is there anything simplier for grain filling?

[B. Howard]

If you use epoxy for a fill there is typically no real need for a sealer as long as the epoxy seals all the wood. This means using it on the spruce as well. If when you sand back the epoxy fill you expose bare wood you either need to re-coat with epoxy or use a sealer. If not sealed properly the finish may well de-laminate and peel. I believe that Watco spray lac is self sealing but you would need to check the label to be sure so that would take care of that. There could still be optical differences between places where the epoxy was left on and sanded off though so best advice is either leave a thin coat of epoxy or sand it back so it is only left in the pores.

[Darryl Young]

I would recommend sealing the spruce top with SealCoat (shellac). The top doesn't need pore filler and I wouldn't recommend epoxy for the top (just me).

I use a squeegee to: 1) mash the epoxy down into the pores 2) remove all the epoxy I can. It will still leave a thin layer on the 3rd coat as a seal coat and then all the wood will have the same amber tint and the same sheen. Level sand between each coat and a final. light level sanding after the light 3rd coat and you are ready to spray the finish. Recoat if you sand through anywhere.